Photograph: Carl Court/Getty ImagesBritain’s chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves has once again resorted to large tax increases to fund the Labour government’s spending plans, after previously promising a year ago that a tax raid then was a “one-off”. Added to the £40 billion in tax hikes in her first budget a year ago, it amounts to one of the biggest tax increases in the history of any UK government. This year, however, Ms Reeves avoided hitting employers with tax increases, after criticism last year. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the leak was a “shambles” while Ms Reeves told the Commons she was “deeply disappointed”. “These are Labour choices,” Ms Reeves said repeatedly throughout her budget speech.
