Sunak scam: Families being hit with £800 tax hike

Whilst Chancellor Rishi Sunak' has announced further help with energy bill today he's also still levying a £22.4 bn tax bill:

● £13.8 bn in personal tax rises this year - through the National Insurance rise and the freezing of Income Tax thresholds

● £8.6 bn in extra VAT due to inflation this year

There are 28 million households in the country. This means the £22.4 billion amounts to a total tax hike of £800 per household.

According to the latest Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast from March 2022, the Government will raise an additional £13.8 billion from personal taxes in 2022-23. This comprises £2.9bn from the freezing of Income Tax thresholds and £10.9bn from the National Insurance increase. This takes into account the increase in NI thresholds announced at the Spring Statement.

The additional £8.6bn VAT hit is based on the latest forecasts for VAT receipts from the OBR, compared to its previous forecast published last year. VAT receipts forecasts are taken from the OBR's Economic and fiscal outlooks for March 2021 and March 2022. The difference between the March 2021 and March 2022 forecasts amounts to an additional VAT hit of £8.6bn in 2022-23.

Responding to the Chancellor's announcement on the cost of living, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

"The Chancellor is hammering families with a £800 tax hike this year, more than wiping out what he announced today.

"It is the Sunak scam, promising you help but picking your pockets while you're not looking.

"Soaring inflation and devastating tax rises have left proud families who never dreamed they would find themselves in trouble struggling to pay the bills.

"The British people need help right now, but instead have been left abandoned again for months on end.

"The simplest way to help people right now would be for Rishi Sunak to scrap his unfair tax hikes, starting with VAT. That would put money now back into people's pockets, boost the economy and support struggling businesses."