Chancellor John Healey hits savers, landlords and banks with a tax raid as income tax thresholds stay frozen until 2031
John Healey's Budget scraps standing charges on gas bills and extends the VAT holiday on electricity to July, though the gas change will not take effect before 2027.John Healey's Budget hands HMRC sweeping new powers to deduct overdue tax directly from bank accounts without taxpayer agreement.
Chancellor John Healey's maiden Budget extends the freeze on income tax thresholds until 2031, a move analysts warn will drag millions of middle-income workers and pensioners into higher bands through fiscal drag, raising as much as £55bn a year by 2030. Healey also slapped new levies on banking profits and online retailers, taking Labour's cumulative tax hike past £70bn since 2024. The £100 energy payment for households in council tax bands A-D and a new 'Your First Home' equity loan scheme for first-time buyers were the headline giveaways, but the fiscal buffer against the government's main borrowing rule shrank to £15bn from £23.6bn in March.
Kemi Badenoch warned Britain is about to 'collapse under the weight of welfare' after Healey refused to cut handouts.
Sadiq Khan was handed sweeping new income tax and business rates powers for London in what amounts to fiscal devolution making him one of Europe's most powerful mayors.
