Immigration is good for tax receipts - and five other things we learned from the budget

The grim task of preparing tax returns. Photograph: Alamy

Economic growth… relies on employees being more effective

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) looks ahead five years in its forecast of economic growth and the public finances to help the chancellor judge what he can afford. Analysis to accompany the spring budget by the OBR claims productivity, as measured by the output per worker per hour, will increase significantly between now and 2029, despite being almost flat for the last 15 years.