Ed Miliband may have coined the term, but it seems George Osborne has the squeezed middle on his mind too. The overall effect of yesterday’s budget* was to take from the rich, take from the poor and give to the middle. The IFS has crunched the numbers and produced the latest in its series of decile charts:
The bottom half of households lose out mainly due to the Chancellor’s decision to increase most working-age benefits by only 1 per cent a year for the next three years, and hence cutting them in real terms.
The rich, meanwhile, have been hit mainly by the cut in the tax-free allowance for pension contributions and the below-inflation 1 per cent increase in the point where the 40p income tax rate kicks in.
It’s those above the middle but not in the top 10 per cent who come out best, benefitting from yesterday’s two big tax cuts: the cancellation of January’s 3p per litre fuel duty rise, and the extra £235 rise in the point at which you start paying income tax.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in