Overview
- Reports indicate the Chancellor will extend the freeze on income tax thresholds to 2029/30, raising about £8.3bn a year and pulling roughly 10 million people into higher tax bills through fiscal drag.
- House of Commons Library analysis suggests nearly 500,000 additional workers in London and the South East would pay the 40% rate by 2029 if the freeze is prolonged.
- A targeted property package under consideration includes revaluing council tax bands F–H (around 2.4m properties) and a separate surcharge on roughly 300,000 high‑value homes, with media estimates of around £600m in revenue and potential deferral options for older homeowners.
- City reporting says bond markets sold off when the income tax rate hike was shelved, with gilt yields up as much as 14 basis points before stabilising after briefings that the OBR had improved fiscal forecasts by around £10bn.
- Updated projections reported by multiple outlets narrow the fiscal shortfall toward £20–30bn, even as critics brand the threshold freeze a stealth tax and the IFS warns a patchwork of smaller levies could weigh more on growth.