Budget speculation

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be delighted at being given an extra £3bn to spend, due to mistakes in public finances data announced by the Office of National Statistics.

All eyes will be on tax though, specifically Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise ‘taxes on working people’, which include employee National Insurance, Income Tax and VAT (together responsible for around 75% of tax revenue).

However, freezing the tax thresholds, pension changes, Inheritance Tax adjustments, fuel duty, property tax, Capital Gains Tax and ISA reform are all on the table. The Office for Budget Responsibility is reported to have given Reeves a highly pessimistic growth report, and alongside her commitment to the manifesto pledges, this places her firmly in the world of oft-quoted ‘tough decisions.’