Johnson and Sunak hand couples £5,500 extra tax bill

A COUPLE earning average wages will pay more than £5,500 in additional tax over the next decade under policies introduced by Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, even after the planned income tax cut, analysis suggests.

A paper produced by the House of Commons library states two median earners on a combined salary of about £72,000 a year would pay about £5,550 extra because of the National Insurance rise and the freezing of the income tax personal allowance threshold.

This comes after millions of people began receiving pay slips showing the NI rise, in the form of a new health and social care levy, after the increase was introduced last month.

Tory MPs and opposition parties have demanded the tax increase be dropped given the cost of living crisis, but No10 and the Treasury insist it is needed to fund NHS spending. Downing Street is focused on “non-fiscal” measures to reduce the cost of living, such as removing red tape driving up child care costs.

The research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, says a household of median earners would have a combined original income of £717,640 over the next decade. They would pay about £5,550 in tax arising from policies in place since 2021 – namely the NI rise and the income tax personal allowance freeze – assuming Mr Sunak cuts the basic rate of income tax from 20p to 19p in 2024, as the March budget promises.

Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said “there is no light at the end of the tunnel under this Conservative government, just years of painful tax rises”.

A Government spokesman said that “while we can’t shield everyone from the global challenges we face, we’re supporting British families ... with a £22 billion package of support this financial year.”