Back in June I predicted that taxes would rise one way or another, although I was not quite expecting it to be across the board, and not expecting it to be literal as it could possibly be rather than just a load of “fiddles”. Fiscal drag is in there, removal of exemptions is in there, removal of zero-rated VAT items is in there, and rejigging of Capital Gains tax is in there. Pretty much the full house when it came to my thoughts of possible targets. But the real biggie is properly shameless.
To promise no rise in “National Insurance” and then to hike Employer National Insurance as well as reduce the threshold it kicks in at is outright dishonesty, and is the sort of slight of hand that makes people turn away from politics. Despite what Rachel Reeves claims employer NIC does appear on peoples’ payslips because the tax is a function of salary, and it comes out of the pot of money available for paying workers.
I had no doubt Labour would break promises on taxation but I was not expecting it to be this blatant and this soon.