Chancellor George Osborne defends Budget but laments leaked details He also said the Budget addressed the fairness agenda by lifting thousands more people out of tax altogether through the increase in the personal allowance. The Chancellor has been heavily criticised for putting VAT on pasties, for raising more than £1bn from pensioners by pulling their personal allowance into line with that for workers, and for capping the use of tax reliefs on charitable giving - which philanthropists say will deter giving.