Almost seven million more workers are dragged into paying income tax by the £71bn frozen-threshold stealth raid
Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaking to ITV News, with NatWest chief executive Paul Thwaite among those criticising Chancellor John Healey for lacking ambition on growth.Andy Burnham in Glasgow, where he chaired his first National Economic Council and pledged no nation would be "left behind" on devolution.
Frozen income tax thresholds have drawn almost seven million more workers into paying tax — or into higher bands — than would have been the case had thresholds tracked inflation across the five years since the freeze began. The Office for Budget Responsibility confirms the cumulative stealth raid is worth £71bn to the Treasury, with millions of basic-rate payers now tipping into the higher-rate band.
Council tax is forecast to climb by £16bn over the next few years, an increase of more than a third.
Renters face an extra £700 on average annual bills after Chancellor John Healey hiked property tax on landlords by a further two percentage points from April.
The Bank of England is widely expected next week to lift interest rates from 3.75% to 4%, with inflation at 3.5% proving stubbornly resistant to returning to target.
