THERE is just one day to go until Rachel Reeves’ hokey-cokey Budget.
First, tax rises of 2p were in . . . then they were out amid fears of a voter backlash if the party broke its manifesto promises.
As a result, National Insurance, tax and VAT rises for “working people” are unlikely to be in the Chancellor’s Budget tomorrow.
Instead, Reeves will hit us with tax tweaks to plug a £20billion-plus hole in our finances.
We can expect tax thresholds to be frozen until 2030, which means millions of pensioners and part-time workers on the minimum wage will start paying tax.
Fuel duty could also rise, and there may be a shock for electric car owners who may have to start paying for each mile they drive.
Also expect there to be more taxes on life’s little pleasures, like a pint or a punt at the bookies.
Here, six Sun readers reveal their biggest concerns over tomorrow’s Autumn Budget.
The carer
SINGLE mother Cheryl James, who suffers from fibromyalgia and scoliosis, has two sons and is a carer for her eldest boy Joe, 23, who has autism.
She gets £1,911 a month in Universal Credit and PIP, as well as £75 a month to help with the mortgage interest on her home in Treharris, South Wales.
She also receives £104 a month in child benefit for her son Elliot, 13.
Cheryl, 46, says: “I’m worried about the rise in the cost of food and utilities. I can just cope now, but I don’t have spare cash at the end of the month. Being on benefits, you know your income can be taken away from you overnight and that’s scary.
“If anything can be done to slow down the rise in the cost of necessities, like food and gas and electricity, that would solve a lot of problems for people.
“I would also love it if ministers spent more money on social care. My son is disabled and I would have more luck winning the lottery than him getting the care he needs.”
The single mum
SINGLE mum Zoe Nichols works part-time at a college and runs her own mobile beauty business, travelling to see her clients in a Nissan Leaf electric car.
But under the Budget, Zoe – who lives in Bournemouth with her son Drayson, seven – could face being hit with a 3p-a-mile charge for driving an EV.
She says: “I was excited to get my EV in 2022, and not having any car tax to pay each year was a good saving. Now it’s £195. I previously had a Ford Ka and that tax stayed at £30 a year. The Government duped me.”
Zoe, 39, who lives in a poorly insulated flat, often runs up £200-a-month heating bills in the winter so she would also like the Warm Home Discount Scheme extended.
She says: “I build up credit in the summer and then get in debt every winter.
“If the Budget is too harsh for working people, it really affects me. I’m not the only beauty professional who’s had to take on other work in the last few years.
“I need to put my prices up but I don’t want to lose clients to cheaper therapists.”
The small business
SHAHID Vakkayil and his wife Hasna own a convenience shop at a filling station near Sawtry, Cambs.
Together they earn £40,000 a year from the shop, but thanks to Reeves’ Budget last year, their costs have gone through the roof.
In April, the minimum wage went up from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour. The Chancellor also increased the amount of National Insurance bosses must pay for workers.
Shahid, 37, says: “Staffing is our biggest challenge. The costs have risen faster than our income – some support would make a huge difference.”
Shahid and Hasna, also 37, who are parents to Dilawar, seven, and Dilhan, three, would also like the tax on cigarettes to be cut.
Shahid says: “People do not buy cigarettes from my shop because of the price. They go to the black market instead, which means tax is not coming to the Government.
“It is so hard to make ends meet that other village stores have given up.”
The pensioner
DIVORCEE Gloria Sammons suffers from severe arthritis, but says she cannot afford to turn her heating on during the day.
Gloria, 73, recently started paying income tax on her pension of £13,791 a year because the amount you can earn before tax has been frozen since the end of Covid at £12,570.
If, as expected, Chancellor Rachel Reeves freezes that threshold until 2028, millions of OAPs will pay tax on their state pension from 2027.
As well as her state pension, Gloria gets pension credits of £53 a week and £295 a month in PIP.
The retired legal secretary, who lives at a sheltered housing complex in Colchester, Essex, says: “Labour is grinding us down. Everything seems to have doubled in price and food is so expensive, it’s ridiculous.
“I’d like to see the Chancellor announcing the raising of the tax threshold because no one should pay tax on their state pension.
“And she shouldn’t cut PIP for people who really need it.”
The white van men
ANDY BAGE and Jarryd Sabatta took a leap into the unknown when they quit their jobs as trade plate men – who deliver and collect cars – to set up The Van Squad.
They currently spend £1,100 a month on diesel for the Ford Transit they use for house removals in the North East.
The pair based in Stockton-on-Tees, could have to pay an extra £500 a year if the Chancellor increases fuel duty by 5p a litre. A temporary fuel duty cut was introduced in March 2022 and has been extended every year since.
Jarryd, 35, says: “We really don’t want to take a hit at the pumps because we’d have to pass it on to our customers. A lot of people who use us get free goods from Facebook Marketplace and the transportation is the only cost, so we need to be competitive on price.”
Andy, 44, adds: “A slowdown in the housing market, changes to Stamp Duty or anything that would affect people moving would also hit us hard.”
The family
MARRIED couple Crystal and Stephen Rudd could be one of the few Budget winners if Reeves ditches the two-child benefit cap.
Stephen, 27, earns £30,000 a year from his job in food manufacturing while hospital volunteer Crystal is paid an £85-a-week carer’s allowance so she can look after their kids – Ethan, 11, Blaze, nine, and seven-year-old Poppy – who all have autism.
The family, from Fleet, Lincs, also receive £631 a month in Universal Credit and get child benefit of £242 per month.
Crystal, 31, says: “Our third child was a planned pregnancy, born just after the two-child cap had been introduced, in 2018. But we knew we’d manage financially as we’re so thrifty.
“If the Chancellor ends the two-child cap, we can spend more on food, rather than eating the same meals all the time. It will be beneficial, but it won’t matter if it doesn’t happen.
“I have mixed views on removal of the cap – some people are deserving, others are not. I think people should budget better.”
