Overview
- Reports indicate a council tax revaluation of bands F–H in England targeting roughly 2.4 million higher‑value homes, with a proposed £600 million surcharge and an option to defer payment until sale or death, potentially with interest on deferred sums.
- The Budget is expected to extend the freeze on income‑tax thresholds to 2029/30, with House of Commons Library projections suggesting about 480,000 more higher‑rate payers in London and the South East and IFS analysis warning many more pensioners will be pulled into tax.
- Ministers are set to give regional mayors powers to levy overnight visitor charges in England through devolution bill amendments, a move estimated to raise hundreds of millions of pounds and opposed by hospitality groups concerned about competitiveness.
- An expansion of the soft drinks industry levy is anticipated to include milk‑based drinks such as packaged coffees and milkshakes, with the sugar threshold likely lowered to 4g per 100ml and revenues forecast at £50 million to £100 million.
- Conservative figures including Kemi Badenoch and Sir Mel Stride have attacked the property plans as unfair on pensioners and a 'death tax by the back door', underscoring political pressure ahead of the 26 November Budget.