Millions more dragged into paying higher income tax in Reeves’s £26bn Budget squeeze
Rachel Reeves admits ordinary people will ‘pay a little more’ in tax-rising Budget
- The Chancellor unveiled a second Budget featuring a £26bn tax raid, including 43 separate tax rises, pushing the UK's tax burden to its highest level in history.
- Millions more people will be drawn into paying higher income tax due to frozen tax thresholds, with 920,000 more expected to pay the 40p higher rate by 2031.
- The much-criticised two-child benefit cap was scrapped at an annual cost of £3.6bn, funded by increased taxes on gambling companies.
- The Chancellor admitted asking ordinary people to pay “a little more” but insisted those with “broadest shoulders” would contribute more, acknowledging the cost to working people.
- The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downgraded economic growth projections, and the Budget faced strong criticism from opposition parties and business groups for failing to stimulate growth.