@petermacmahon

It's worth remembering that stealth taxes will still be at the heart of this Budget They represent the biggest tax rise in history Income tax thresholds have been frozen now since 2021 and are due to remain frozen until April 2031 The cumulative freezes of freezing thresholds and allowances is expected to raise ***£67billion*** by 2030/31 The higher rate - which was once the preserve of the rich - is now the norm for millions of people By 2030/31 5.2million people will have been brought into paying income tax, there will be 4.8million more higher rate taxpayers and 600,000 more additional rate taxpayers A ***quarter*** of taxpayers will be higher rate or additional rate taxpayers We've reached the stage where this huge tax raid is almost priced in every year, but it is far more significant than any other tax-raising measure on the scorecard Paul Johnson, a former head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: "We are talking many, many billions of pounds of tax rises over the decade. People who would 20 years ago have never imagined they would be higher-rate taxpayers are now higher-rate taxpayers."