Warnings of a black hole in the nation's finances have heightened worries about Budget tax hikes (Image: PA)
The Chancellor is going after middle-class Britons as she scrambles to avoid financial disaster, campaigners have claimed. Rachel Reeves has been accused of “driving away” high earners, with the result that “Middle England” pays a greater share of the tax burden.
A new analysis found the share of income tax expected to be paid by the top 1% has slumped from nearly 31% in 2021-22 to just under 27% in 2025-26. The Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) says nearly three million more people will have been forced to pay the basic rate of income tax in 2025-26 than in 2021-22. The number paying higher rate income tax has gone up by more than 2.6million.
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'Act now' warning issued as Rachel Reeves eyes 'targeted moves' on pensions and property
Exact date all state pensioners will start paying tax after triple lock change
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out tax hikes after ￡50bn black hole exposed
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Inheritance move thousands of wealthy families are making to cut tax rate by 4%
The full breakdown of just how Rachel Reeves has blown a ￡51bn black hole in the economy
Bank of England blames bad weather and Rachel Reeves for soaring cost of food
Rachel Reeves set to target millions of Brits with ￡2,300 savings tax
Only one tax will help Rachel Reeves plug her Budget black hole - but it will destroy her
Rachel Reeves thinks tax hikes will fix her ￡51bn black hole - here's why they won't
Rachel Reeves warned against stealth tax raid on pensioners and workers to fill black hole
Labour has stopped doing one thing - it's bleak clue as to where UK is heading
Kemi Badenoch warns Keir Starmer over income tax raid to fill ￡51bn blackhole
Savings allowances explained as Rachel Reeves approves tax crackdown
Labour to hit families with tax raid on pensions pots of deceased loved ones
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Andrew Neil completely savages Rachel Reeves in brutal putdown - 'can't blame Tories now!'
'Act now' warning issued as Rachel Reeves eyes 'targeted moves' on pensions and property
Exact date all state pensioners will start paying tax after triple lock change
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out tax hikes after ￡50bn black hole exposed
POLL: Should Starmer and Reeves resign as they leave UK economy on the brink?
State pensioners warned they are 'at risk' of staggering ￡6bn stealth tax on savings
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Inheritance move thousands of wealthy families are making to cut tax rate by 4%
The full breakdown of just how Rachel Reeves has blown a ￡51bn black hole in the economy
Bank of England blames bad weather and Rachel Reeves for soaring cost of food
Rachel Reeves set to target millions of Brits with ￡2,300 savings tax
It claims Yorkshire and the Humber has seen a 20% increase in the total number of people paying income tax – even though the campaign group says it has the “third-lowest average earnings in the UK”.
The findings come in the same week the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) warned the Government will need to find more than ￡50billion in tax rises and spending cuts by 2029-30 if it wants to avoid breaking a key fiscal rule and keep in place an emergency cushion against shocks. NIESR has recommended a “moderate but sustained increase in taxes” to build a bigger “buffer” to protect the economy.
Read more: Reeves ridiculed Tories 34 times for ￡22bn black hole – and creates a bigger one
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The TPA says the share of tax receipts paid by the bottom 50% has climbed to just under 10%.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TPA, said: “This is the sad but inevitable result of successive governments’ assortment of anti-affluence tax policies, which penalise aspiration and success. The UK is now trapped in a doom loop, with the Chancellor desperately scrabbling around for more cash to fill the fiscal black hole and increasingly finding her only option is to come after the middle classes.
“Rachel Reeves needs to now show some humility and reverse the policies that have done so much to drive away high earners.”
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Labour to hit families with tax raid on pensions pots of deceased loved ones
Top 45% tax rate now hitting Middle Britain
Andrew Neil completely savages Rachel Reeves in brutal putdown - 'can't blame Tories now!'
'Act now' warning issued as Rachel Reeves eyes 'targeted moves' on pensions and property
Exact date all state pensioners will start paying tax after triple lock change
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out tax hikes after ￡50bn black hole exposed
POLL: Should Starmer and Reeves resign as they leave UK economy on the brink?
State pensioners warned they are 'at risk' of staggering ￡6bn stealth tax on savings
Rachel Reeves tax bombshell as 3.35m people's savings to be hit
UK 'on the brink' as Rachel Reeves massive mistakes are laid bare in full
Inheritance move thousands of wealthy families are making to cut tax rate by 4%
The full breakdown of just how Rachel Reeves has blown a ￡51bn black hole in the economy
Bank of England blames bad weather and Rachel Reeves for soaring cost of food
Rachel Reeves set to target millions of Brits with ￡2,300 savings tax
Only one tax will help Rachel Reeves plug her Budget black hole - but it will destroy her
Rachel Reeves thinks tax hikes will fix her ￡51bn black hole - here's why they won't
Rachel Reeves warned against stealth tax raid on pensioners and workers to fill black hole
Labour has stopped doing one thing - it's bleak clue as to where UK is heading
Kemi Badenoch warns Keir Starmer over income tax raid to fill ￡51bn blackhole
Savings allowances explained as Rachel Reeves approves tax crackdown
Labour to hit families with tax raid on pensions pots of deceased loved ones
Top 45% tax rate now hitting Middle Britain
Andrew Neil completely savages Rachel Reeves in brutal putdown - 'can't blame Tories now!'
'Act now' warning issued as Rachel Reeves eyes 'targeted moves' on pensions and property
Exact date all state pensioners will start paying tax after triple lock change
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out tax hikes after ￡50bn black hole exposed
POLL: Should Starmer and Reeves resign as they leave UK economy on the brink?
State pensioners warned they are 'at risk' of staggering ￡6bn stealth tax on savings
Rachel Reeves tax bombshell as 3.35m people's savings to be hit
UK 'on the brink' as Rachel Reeves massive mistakes are laid bare in full
Inheritance move thousands of wealthy families are making to cut tax rate by 4%
The full breakdown of just how Rachel Reeves has blown a ￡51bn black hole in the economy
Bank of England blames bad weather and Rachel Reeves for soaring cost of food
Rachel Reeves set to target millions of Brits with ￡2,300 savings tax
Only one tax will help Rachel Reeves plug her Budget black hole - but it will destroy her
Rachel Reeves thinks tax hikes will fix her ￡51bn black hole - here's why they won't
Rachel Reeves warned against stealth tax raid on pensioners and workers to fill black hole
Labour has stopped doing one thing - it's bleak clue as to where UK is heading
Kemi Badenoch warns Keir Starmer over income tax raid to fill ￡51bn blackhole
Savings allowances explained as Rachel Reeves approves tax crackdown
Labour to hit families with tax raid on pensions pots of deceased loved ones
Top 45% tax rate now hitting Middle Britain
Andrew Neil completely savages Rachel Reeves in brutal putdown - 'can't blame Tories now!'
'Act now' warning issued as Rachel Reeves eyes 'targeted moves' on pensions and property
Exact date all state pensioners will start paying tax after triple lock change
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out tax hikes after ￡50bn black hole exposed
POLL: Should Starmer and Reeves resign as they leave UK economy on the brink?
The TPA is pressing for the Government to U-turn on a host of measures it claims target the well-off, including VAT on private schools, inheritance tax changes and the abolition of non-dom status. It also wants the Labour Government to “decisively and unequivocally” rule out wealth taxes.
A Treasury spokesperson said: "This government inherited the previous government’s policy of frozen tax thresholds. At the Budget and the Spring Statement, the Chancellor announced that we would not extend that freeze.
“We are also protecting payslips for working people by keeping our promise to not raise the basic, higher or additional rates of Income Tax, employee National Insurance or VAT. That’s the Plan for Change - protecting people’s incomes and putting money into people’s pockets."
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