Autumn budget 2025: Live updates as Rachel Reeves insists tax hikes are 'fair and necessary'
Rachel Reeves will unveil her second Budget at the House of Commons today where she is expected to outline a slew of tax hikes to fill a £35billion 'black hole'.The Government has already laid out two relatively small revenue-raisers - extending the 'sugar tax' and introducing a per night 'tourist tax' on hotel and bed & breakfast stays.But that is expected to be just the start of the pain, with homeowners, businesses and pensioners all set to impacted in a series of money grabbing levies.Follow the Daily Mail's live coverage of Budget day below and join in the conversation in our comments section The lights are on at No 11Good morningWhat to expect in today's budgetA 'mansion tax': The owners of more expensive homes face being hit with a new 'mansion tax' worth an average of £4,500.Freeze on income tax thresholds: The Chancellor is expected to freeze income tax thresholds for an extra two years to 2030.Workplace pensions: Ms Reeves will target a £3billion raid on the 'salary-sacrifice' schemes used by millions of private-sector workers.Electric cars: The Chancellor is said to be considering a 3p per mile tax for electric vehicles (EVs).Two-child benefit cap: Ms Reeves is widely expected to bow to pressure from Labour MPs by scrapping the two-child benefit cap.ISA limit: The Chancellor is poised to slash the annual cash ISA limit to £12,000 from £20,000.A 'taxi tax': The Treasury has refused to rule out slapping 20 per cent VAT on private hire fares.Gambling: Ms Reeves has suggested she could raise taxes on betting firms at the Budget and said the Treasury had been 'taking evidence' on the issue.Minimum wage: The Chancellor is expected to confirm that the minimum wage for workers over 21 will rise by about 4.1 per cent to around £12.71 an hour.What is the Budget? And when will it be unveiled?Budget preparations have been 'chaotic', economists warnIf you do lots of small things, often our smaller taxes are particularly badly designed and therefore you can end up increasing taxes that are bad for growth.Investors will be nervous if they see a list of tax increases, but don't quite trust how much revenue it will bring in.There are a number of data points that suggest the prolonged speculation has flatlined growth. You see this in the latest retail sales figures, which were the first decline since May. You see this in the decline of business confidence.The economy has paid a price for a process that has been delayed, has been full of speculation and that has seen the Government send conflicting signals. A Budget has a journey and a destination. If you make the journey complex, if it seems chaotic, then your destination becomes harder to reach...it has made hard choices even harder.We need a decisive action that puts to bed any notion of further tax rises.You have seen thousands of people take money out of their pensions because they were worried about potential changes. You have had an effect on the housing market. There has been an effect on business investment. This is real-world damage.WATCH: Chancellor Rachel Reeves message on the 2025 Budget
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Autumn budget 2025: Live updates as Rachel Reeves insists tax hikes are 'fair and necessary'
