UK Announces Tax Hikes on Savings and Property Income as Welfare Spending Rises

The left-wing Labour Party government will raise fresh taxes on savings and property income as spending on welfare and foreign subsidies will continue to grow, recently installed Chancellor John Healey told the House of Commons on Wednesday. Unveiling his autumn budget, Chancellor Healey said that he would be increasing tax rates on income made from savings and property by two per cent starting in April to 24 per cent, 44 per cent, and 49 per cent depending on income level. “I am increasing the rates of tax on income from property and savings by a further two percentage points from April 2027, with no change to tax on income from dividends and tax on income from employment,” he said. The Chancellor also said that he would be increasing tax on bank profits over £100 million ($133m) from three to six per cent. Yet, Healey did not take the opportunity to slash welfare spending, which is now predicted to reach £431.3 billion ($574bn) per year by 2031, The Telegraph reported. This comes as estimates forecast that direct welfare payments to migrants will hit £21 billion ($28.5bn) a year by 2029, and Reform UK has predicted the cumulative lifetime cost of the so-called Boriswave migrants who arrived between 2020 and 2024 will be £622.5 billion ($828bn) for British taxpayers. In addition to ploughing more money into Britain’s ballooning welfare state — and thus into the pockets of many recently arrived foreigners — Chancellor Healey also announced a further £10 billion ($13.3bn) in British support for Ukraine in economic and military aid. “Today we send a clear message to Moscow: Britain will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said. However, even the foreign aid given to Kyiv will pale in comparison to the amount spent simply servicing Britain’s growing debt, with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicting that the UK will spend £14 billion ($17.3bn) more on debt interest payments this year. Chancellor Healey also said that the government would spend £430 million ($572m) more to fight unsheltered homelessness. This adds to the £442 million ($588m) the Labour government pledged last August, meaning the government will have committed at least £874 million ($1.16bn) by the end of its term. He also announced a raise to the national minimum wage of 3.9 per cent, meaning that it will now stand at £13 ($17) per hour for the first time in history. Additionally, Healey said that the government would be providing a one-time £100 “energy payment” to some 20 million households to help with winter energy bills. Simon Francis, of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented on the payment: “The Chancellor talked the talk on energy bills, but ultimately failed to walk the walk. Wholesale gas prices have tripled since February and bills are expected to rise further during the sixth winter of high energy costs. “Yet the only immediate support is a payment that will barely dent the predicted rise households face in January. Because it is paid directly into household accounts in England, it may not even be spent on staying warm this winter.” In a statement provided to Breitbart London, Reform UK shadow chancellor Robert Jenrick said: “This is the budget that took Britain backwards. Unemployment is set to rise, taxes on working people will go up, and prices are forecast to soar even higher. It was an exercise in fiddling while the economy burns. Burnham bottled taking the tough decisions required to put the economy back on track and the British people will now pay the price with lower living standards. “This nothing burger budget didn’t have anything to say about cutting the ballooning benefits bill or the eye-watering cost of borrowing. Reform offered Healey a bold plan to cut wasteful spending by £40 billion so we could give households £1,300 back but he rejected it. If he won’t help working people, he should resign to make way for a party that will. “Reform stands ready with a fully-costed plan to fix our economy and give working families some relief.” Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: kzindulka@breitbart.com