Raising UK income tax while sparing employees

Desperate measures: Reeves is running out of options after a series of policy U-turns, spiking borrowing costs and an expected productivity downgrade by the Office for Budget Responsibility. — Reuters

LONDON: UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves can raise £6bil (US$8bil) of income tax without hurting employees by aiming increases at pensioners, landlords and the self-employed, according to an influential think tank.

In an analysis published ahead of the Nov 26 budget, the Resolution Foundation proposed cutting employee national insurance, a payroll tax, by two percentage points and raising the basic rate of income tax by the same amount.