When is the budget 2025 UK? What time will it be announced, predictions - as Rachel Reeves to extend benefit fraud crackdown
Rachel Reeves will extend a crackdown on benefit fraud in a bid to raise £1.2 billion as she seeks to balance the books in the Budget this week.
It comes as she is expected to scrap the two-child benefit cap, in a move that could cost more than £3 billion. The Chancellor is also thought to be poised to raise taxes in an effort to bridge a multibillion-pound gap in her spending plans.
She will extending targeted case reviews, which root out inaccuracies in universal credit claims, with the aim of bringing in an extra £1.2 billion by March 2031. She could also hit more than 100,000 high-value properties with a levy that applies to those worth more than £2 million and could raise £400-£450 million, The Times reported.
Some 2.4 million properties in the top three council tax bands would be revalued to determine which would be subject to the surcharge. People will be able to defer the cost until they die or move house to avoid forcing them to sell up, according to the newspaper.
She is thought to be considering bringing in a pay-per-mile tax for electric vehicle drivers and limiting how much workers can stash in their pensions under salary sacrifice schemes before paying national insurance. And she will reaffirm the Government’s commitment to the triple lock on state pensions, and confirm that 13 million pensioners are set to benefit from an above inflation rise next April.
An extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds is also among rumoured measures and would see more people dragged into paying tax for the first time or shifted into a higher rate as their wages go up. The Chancellor will deliver the 2025 Autumn Budget on Wednesday 26 November.
The Chancellor says the Budget will “deliver on the priorities of the British people: Cutting NHS waiting lists, cutting the national debt and cutting the cost of living.” It will be announced at approximately 12:30pm in the House of Commons.