At the time of its launch, the product proved extremely popular with savers – and with many cash ISAs offering introductory interest rates of 6.5 per cent, it’s easy to see why. Savers who deposited even £5,000 in a cash ISA at that rate could expect an annual return of £325, without incurring any tax liabilities.

In the years since, however, interest rates have crashed (the best easy-access cash ISA rate available at present is 1.6 per cent, the best fixed-rate ISA rate 2.5 per cent) and their popularity has waned; now, George Osborne may well have signed the cash ISA’s ‘do not resuscitate’ form.

In his speech, the Chancellor pledged to scrap savings tax for the first £1,000 of interest earned via a standard current or savings account (£500 for higher rate taxpayers). According to Andrew Hagger of Moneycomms, Osborne’s reforms have opened the door to savers being able to place up to £62,500 in a ‘best-buy’ instant access savings account without the annual interest being taxable.

Hagger’s calculations, however, depend on rates staying relatively flat for the foreseeable future. Should interest rates rise up to 4 per cent, annual interest on deposits of over £25,000 would be taxed. For accounts locked in to the top five-year fixed rate, deposits of over £33,000 would be taxed.

“Current accounts have been a popular way of achieving a better return on your nest egg over the past couple of years,” says Hagger. “The new tax-free interest will make these even more appealing as long as current rates are still on offer come April next year,”

Industry reaction to the reform has been positive – and many have begged the question of how much longer the cash ISA can survive.

“The cash ISA was pointless before – now its unworkable too,” says Stephen Ford of Brewin Dolphin.

“The new allowance is death knell for cash ISAs. We struggle to see who will still bother using cash ISAs,” says Chris Williams of Wealth Horizon.

However, those keen to ditch their apparently now-redundant cash ISA must remain patient for the time being – the new allowance doesn’t come into effect until next April.