Today the Chancellor presented her second Budget in the House of Commons.
In an unprecedented error, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast was leaked online before Rachel Reeves spoke in the House; essentially announcing the Budget before the Budget.
This involved a range of tax raising measures equal to £26 billion including: freezing income tax thresholds, lowering the tax free cash ISA threshold to £12,000, introducing a pay per mile on electric vehicles, introducing national insurance payments on rental income and on salary sacrifice pension contributions, a tax on gambling and a mansion tax among others.
This equals £66 billion in tax increases in just two Budgets delivered by Labour, taking the tax burden to 38% of GDP- an all-time record.
The OBR report forecast increased borrowing, increased spending, increased debt interest and an increase in taxation under the announced plans.
They also announced scrapping the two-child benefit cap which currently limits means tested Universal Credit for families with over three children and kept the freeze on fuel duty until September 2026.
Jack Rankin, responding to the Budget said:
“This Budget amounts to of a £26 billion tax raid on working people in order to further expand a bloated welfare state”
“Having pledged only £8.5 billion of tax rises in the manifesto, after today she’s increased the tax burden by £66 billion. This is a disingenuous, benefits budget balanced on the back of the working people,
“The freeze on income tax thresholds will drag millions into paying higher rates of tax: this is clearly a tax on working people, breaking the promises made by the Chancellor last year. My constituents across the towns and villages of Windsor expect better.”
“Having taxed growth to oblivion last Autumn and then failing to shave a sliver off the welfare Bill in the Summer, the Chancellor has delivered a winter freeze on tax thresholds and on growth”.
“With today’s Budget the Chancellor is doubling down on the messed she made last year, massively hiking taxes whilst increasing welfare spending. Whilst this lame duck Chancellor remains in post this doom spiral will continue and it’s future generations that will pick up the bill”.
“The Liberal Democrats have voted 53 times with Labour in this Parliament, often supporting their big state, big spend agenda. Only the Conservatives have a real plan for reigning in unnecessary spending and balancing the books through our £47 billion in savings and our economic Golden Rule”.
