Tax receipts increase by 20% which should give the Chancellor the headroom he needs to help with the cost-of-living crisis

Government tax receipts have increased by 20% which should give the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, the headroom he needs to help with the cost-of-living crisis and hold an emergency budget at the earliest opportunity, say leading tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg

Robert Pullen a partner at the firm said, “Tax receipts are way ahead of inflation, increasing 20%, or £121 billion, to £729 billion overall. The strong figures must surely give Rishi Sunak the prompt to hold an Emergency Budget and announce measures to support families facing difficulty with cost-of-living.

“National Insurance (NICs) are up 10% year-on-year, with only one month of the higher 1.25% NIC rates in force, with contributions increasing by 15% between March 22 and April 22 alone.

“Corporation tax is showing a 30% increase over the last year – with the corporation tax rate set to increase to 25% next April, the timely boost in tax receipts may give the Chancellor the opportunity to scale back that increase.”

Pullen added, “Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), has had a huge jump of 60% year-on-year compared to property transactions which are only up 7%.

“The Chancellor is generating higher than expected tax receipts, and sooner than he would have planned following the pandemic. However, the fiscally prudent and cautious Chancellor may still wait until the autumn before showing his hand, but the cost-of-living damage may be too late for some families by then.”