Tax rises leap from 299 to 413, versus just 166 cuts

Yesterday’s Budget will bring the total number of tax rises brought in over the term of the Coalition government to more than 400. The government has or will introduce only 166 tax cuts in the same time, according to new figures from the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) out this morning.

The total number of tax rises has jumped up from 299, according to TPA research from January 2013, to 413 following announcements made in yesterday’s Budget.

In total, some 380 tax rises will have been implemented by 7 April this year, with a further 33 due to come in after that.

VAT and vehicle excise duty, also known as road tax, have faced the largest number of tax rises, with 55 and 67 tax increases already implemented or due to be introduced.

Corporation tax and income tax have experienced the next highest number of tax rises, at 37 increases over the term of the current government. This was followed by alcohol duty which has seen 36 tax rises.

“The cut in beer tax, the freeze in fuel duty and the higher personal allowance will all ease the pressure on family budgets,” said Matthew Sinclair, CEO of the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

“Lower Employers’ National Insurance and Corporation Tax will also be passed on to workers in higher wages.

“Unfortunately, the great limitation of this Budget was that it relied far too much on complicated targeted reliefs instead of tax cuts across the board. Simpler, strategic tax reforms that reduce the overall burden would be fairer and do more to produce the stronger economy Britain needs.”

In a briefing this morning, Sinclair criticised Osborne’s “hopes for growth” resting partly on “tax fiddles on particular industries”, citing the Chancellor’s tendency to pick out favourite industries for tax schemes, such as the ceramics, visual effects and high-entertainment industries, which were all given special tax treatment in yesterday’s Budget.