Expert reveals how much an increase in income tax will cost everyday people

Rachel Reeves is reportedly planning on raising income tax

Latest reports from The Times say that Rachel Reeves is planning to raise income tax in the upcoming Autumn Budget.

The outlet said that the chancellor has informed the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that she intends to increase income tax as she looks to repair public finances.

A rise in income tax is one of the "major measures" Reeves is set to implement during the Budget, which is due to be announced on 26 November.

The OBR will weigh up the new measures before reporting back to the Treasury next Monday (10 November).

Under the plans, Reeves intends to raise income tax by 2p while cutting National Insurance by the same amount.

The idea is to target pensioners and landlords who generally do not pay National Insurance.

A 2p rise effectively means everyone paying income tax will pay an extra 2p for every £1 they earn in taxable income.

Now, financial service provider AJ Bell has revealed how much a 'two up two down' proposal will cost the average person.

Experts at the company provided a table of what this change would look like for multiple income bands with it suggesting that most people might not even be affected.

The findings show that, with a 2p increase to income tax and a 2p cut to National Insurance, most regular National Insurance paying employees on all tax bands will not see any net change in tax.

Meanwhile, AJ Bell claims that pensioners and people with other sources of income will see a proportional increase in tax due to the fact many people in the category do not pay National Insurance.

The table showed that those on the lowest tax bracket would see a £48.60 increase while those with an income of £65,000 would see a tax increase of £1,048.60.

While the changes take form as a sort of stealth wealth tax, the move is still in violation of Labour's manifesto pledge which promised not to increase taxes ahead of being elected into government.

Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, said: “Labour’s pledge not to increase rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT for ‘working people’ has left chancellor Rachel Reeves playing mental gymnastics in her increasingly desperate attempts to balance the books without completely abandoning the manifesto commitments Sir Keir Starmer was elected on. 

“This contortionist act now appears to be circling the idea of a ‘two up, two down’ shift in income tax and National Insurance rates.

"While this would be a clear breach of Labour’s promise not to raise income tax rates, Reeves could still claim to be protecting the pay packets of ‘working people’ because a similar NI cut would effectively cancel out the impact for employees and the self-employed, assuming it is applied across the board."

The reported tax hike has led to some disharmony at the heart of the Labour party, with deputy leader Lucy Powell saying yesterday the party should stick to its manifesto pledges.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live, the MP for Manchester Central said: "We should be following through on our manifesto, of course. There's no question about that.

"It's really important we stand by the promises that we were elected on and that we do what we said we would do."

She added: "If we're to take the country with us then they've got to trust us.

"We want to make sure that ordinary working people are better off as a result of this Labour government and we're putting more money back into the pockets of ordinary working people.

"That's what that manifesto commitment is all about. And that's what this Budget will be about I'm sure."

However, in a statement released after the interview, Powell's team affirmed her support for the chancellor and PM, noting that the "context" for this Budget was "particularly difficult".

Economists have claimed that Reeves could need to raise taxes to total as much as £30bn in order to fulfil her financial rules by a comfortable margin.