Middle earners could face a £5,000 tax hit because Chancellor John Healey's frozen thresholds drag them into higher bands

Tom Minnikin, a partner at specialist tax firm Forbes Dawson, warns that leaving income tax thresholds frozen through to April 2031 will silently drag middle earners into higher bands, adding up to £5,000 to their bills despite no rise in rates. The Office for Budget Responsibility now expects income tax and National Insurance receipts in 2030-31 to reach £17.4 billion above its March forecast.

Workers in their forties and fifties are "squeezed from both sides" as heavier tax bills erode what they can set aside for retirement.

The OBR named rising income tax and NI contributions the "single largest driver" behind the growing tax burden.

Minnikin cautions that a salary increase can push someone into a position where a larger proportion of their income goes to tax, with no corresponding gain in purchasing power.