Tax burden to hit highest level since Wilson was Labour PM 47 years ago

THE tax burden in Britain is heading to its highest level for nearly half a century, according to official forecasts used by the Treasury.

Tax revenues are currently expected to account for 34.4 per cent of national income by 2019-20 – the most since 196970 when Harold Wilson was in power.

The figure, in the small print of documents published by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the official Treasury watchdog, underlines the squeeze already facing taxpayers across the country.

But it is feared the tax burden could rise even higher in the Budget this month as Philip Hammond battles to balance the books and end years of borrowing.

The Budget on november 22 is shaping up to be a crucial moment for the Chancellor who has been criticised for his han- dling of the economy and his gloomy assessment of Brexit. Mr Hammond is facing demands for extra cash to increase funding for the NHS, give public sector workers a pay rise, ease the burden on students and kick-start housebuilding.

But any attempt to raise taxes to pay for a spending spree would push the already rising burden facing households and businesses even higher – and is likely to face opposition from Tory MPs.

It is feared Mr Hammond will resort to more stealth taxes in the Budget – such as further raids on pension pots, motorists and businesses.

Julian Jessop, chief economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: ‘The tax burden has been creeping higher since the mid-1990s and is projected to continue rising over the next few years.

‘As a result, the UK taxpayer is already facing a burden which is unprecedented in the post-war period – even under the current plans of the Conservative government. Politicians should be looking to ease this burden, particularly for hard-pressed families who are already struggling to pay their bills.’

But despite the soaring tax take, the government borrowed another £32.5billion in the first six months of this year as it spent even more than it bought in.

The tax burden has only exceeded 34 per cent of gross domestic product twice in Britain since the 1950s – in 1969-70 and in 1981-82.

On those occasions, it quickly fell back, dropping below 30 per cent of national income in the early 1970s and again in the early 1990s.

But, according to the OBR documents, taxes are due to be worth 34 per cent of GDP this year and remain above that level until at least 2021-22.

Spending is only on course to fall to 37.9 per cent of national income in 2021-22.

SINCE the Leveson Inquiry, Press freedom in Britain has suffered its worst buffeting for 300 years, with mainstream publications – including the Mail – now signed up to the toughest regulatory regime in the free world, policed by the independent Ipso.

Yet from today, peers will seek to impose even more draconian curbs, with plans which would offer criminals, terror suspects, corrupt business leaders and cheating MPs protection from exposure, further undermining the public’s right to know. Under a proposed amendment to the Data Protection Bill, planned legal safeguards for journalists would be stripped away, forcing papers to reveal information they hold on subjects under investigation, who may then prevent publication.

Another amendment would see the public interest in exposing wrongdoing trumped by an individual’s right to privacy.

A third would limit journalistic exemptions for print publications to those subscribing to the state-approved regulator Impress, which covers just a handful of local papers and blogs and depends on money from the ex-F1 boss Max Mosley. Thus, peers hope to coerce papers into accepting curbs dictated ultimately by the state.

This paper makes no apology for raising the concerns of our own industry. For a free Press is a vital pillar of democracy and public safeguard against corruption. These amendments would dangerously undermine it – and that is of fundamental concern to everyone who values liberty.

WITH the Budget three weeks away, house sales frozen by excessive stamp duty and firms reeling from threatened rate rises, comes a timely warning that Britain’s tax burden is heading to its highest for 50 years. The country is crying out for relief. Chancellor, take note.