The chancellor frequently referred to cutting taxes when delivering his budget speech but note this.

1. He raised VAT thresholds from £85,000 to £90,000 but this was the first rise for 7 years so to have kept pace with inflation they should have gone up to £120,000. A stealth tax affecting small business.

2. He didn’t mention tax thresholds which have been frozen since March 2021. To have kept pace with inflation the £12,500 threshold should now be £15,875. So he is taxing at 20% income of £3,375 that should be at 0%. This is a stealth tax that affects everyone.

3. He didn’t mention QUANGOs (Quasi Autonomous Non Governmental Organisations) funded by the State but not under their control. These bodies are costing the state £224bn a year now up from £90bn a year in 2010. Allowing for inflation the cost should be £157.5bn so in real terms the cost is £66.5bn wasted!

4. He didn’t talk about Government contracts which because of social requirements introduced in 2012 are costing at least 10% more than needed so we could save £32bn by making the only requirement value for money.

5. His decision to make the ceiling on child benefit a household ceiling rather than an individual one is anti marriage. There was nothing in the budget to support marriage and the family.

6. The UK has pledged £12bn to Ukraine since Feb 2022 but there was no mention in this budget of defence spending. Grant Shapps called for more money but he was given none so our defence budget is forgotten.

7.  About 10% of local authorities are expected to go bankrupt but there was no mention in this budget of support for local government. Rising Council tax is another stealth tax.