London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Millions will not benefit from Sunak’s ‘tax cut for low paid’, say activists

Millions will not benefit from Sunak’s ‘tax cut for low paid’, say activists

Campaigners say plan provides no extra support for people who are unemployed or unable to work
Millions of struggling low-income households will not benefit from the £2bn “tax cut for the low paid” announced by the chancellor in the budget as a way of easing the pain of soaring living costs, according to campaigners.

The reduction from 63p in the pound to 55p in the universal credit taper rate – the amount in benefits a claimant loses for each pound they earn above a set work allowance – was intended to soften the blow of the withdrawal this month of the £20-a-week universal credit uplift.

Calling it a “tax cut for low-paid families”, the Rishi Sunak said about 2m qualifying households would be at least £1,000 a year better off. He also announced a £500 boost to the work allowance and confirmed a 6.6% rise in the “national living wage” to £9.50 an hour.

There has been increasing concern, including on the Tory backbenches, that the removal of the £20-a-week uplift will hit millions of households already struggling with rent, soaring energy and food bills and next April’s rise in national insurance contributions.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the changes meant a full-time minimum wage worker on universal credit would have their disposable income increase by £250 a year as a result of the minimum wage rise and an extra £1,000 a year or more as a result of the universal credit changes.

However, the shadow work and pensions secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said: “While it’s welcome that the chancellor is following our lead and reducing the taper rate, he is taking people for fools if he thinks this alone makes up for the biggest ever cut to social security, tax hikes and a cost of living crisis.”

Anti-poverty campaigners said it provided no extra support for millions of people who were unemployed or unable to work because of disability or illness, or claiming working tax credits. The boost amounted to just a third of the £6bn a year spent on the universal credit uplift received by 5.5 million claimant families.

Katie Schmuecker, the deputy director of policy at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “The reality is that millions of people who are unable to work or looking for work will not benefit from these changes. The chancellor’s decision to ignore them today as the cost of living rises risks deepening poverty among this group, who now have the lowest main rate of out-of-work support in real terms since around 1990.”

The chancellor’s changes reset the taper to the more generous level envisaged by the political architect of universal credit, Iain Duncan Smith, as a way of improving work incentives. He was overruled by George Osborne, who as chancellor set it instead at 65%. It was reduced to 63% in 2017.

The taper rate cut – more generous than a mooted 60p cut – may placate nervous Tory backbenchers: in 191 Tory-held parliamentary seats more than 30% of low-income working families were hit by the cut to the universal credit uplift. Labour has previously proposed reducing the taper but did not say at what rate it should be set.

Sara Ogilvie, the policy director of Child Poverty Action Group, said: “The long-overdue decision to lower the universal credit taper rate will help lots of low earners. But there was nothing for those who cannot work – carers, those with young children and people who are sick or disabled – who face the same cost pressures as other households and will still have a black hole in their finances after the universal credit cut.”

Louise Rubin, the head of policy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “The budget does little to address the fears of many disabled people and families about their finances this winter. The cut to universal credit, sky-high inflation and spiralling energy costs will hit disabled households hardest.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×