UK families hit with £1,410 ‘inflation tax’ hidden in Autumn statement

Families across the UK are expected to be paying an extra £1,410 in an “inflation tax” according to a new analysis of documents produced by the government’s spending watchdog.

It comes as Labour blasted Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s “dirty dozen” of stealth taxes costing households an additional £800 a year despite trumpeted claims of cuts.

The figures analysed by The Mirror and produced by the government’s Office of Budget Responsibility showed that the upgraded forecast for inflation between November this year and March 2024 would add an additional cost of £1,400 to households across the nation.

It means that a family’s weekly outgoings would be £27 a week higher next year, with households having to spend more on food, clothes, energy, fuel and going out in line with the expected increase in the rate of inflation.

Darren Jones, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Inflation is not just a number; it means higher prices that are forcing millions of families to cut back and make difficult choices.

“The Government would have us believe that the spectre of inflation is now in our past, but this analysis reveals it will continue to have a significant impact on household finances into the new year.

Other changes hidden in the small print of the autumn statement include increases to a host of smaller taxes including vehicle excise duty, gaming duty, environmental levies and tobacco, part of what Labour described as a “dirty dozen” of stealth taxes.

Mr Jones said the autumn statement was a “Trojan horse packed with stealth taxes”.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We have just introduced a tax cut for 29 million working people worth £9 billion a year, meaning that personal taxes for the average person are lower than every other G7 country.

“People working as nurses, teachers, police officers could see gains of hundreds of pounds a year after the cuts to National Insurance and since 2010 we’ve increased personal tax thresholds to take 3 million people out of paying tax altogether.

“Alongside this we’ve introduced full expensing, the biggest business tax cut in modern British history worth over £50 billion over the next five years, and a business rates support package that will support businesses and the high street.”