Osborne ‘plans tax giveaway for lower-paid workers’

Labour figures fear Osborne will hit pensioners – but to help the poor rather than wealthy graduates

the budget 2014 george osborne
(Image credit: 2014 AFP)

Is George Osborne planning to give lower-paid workers a headline-grabbing pre-election tax break in his Budget on 18 March? That’s what Labour fear, according to reports in The Times and the Daily Mail.

Whether they know it for sure – or are guessing at the Chancellor’s tactics – “senior Labour figures” believe he will raise the threshold at which National Insurance is paid. This is equivalent to an income tax cut for most people, and would benefit the lowest-paid most – a direct dig at Labour’s mantra that poorer households are failing to feel the benefits of the economic recovery.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jack Bremer is a London-based reporter, attached to The Week.co.uk. He has reported regularly from the United States and France.