Labour's Tax Bombshell

1.01.21pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 9th Apr 2008

If you earn between about £5,400 to £16,000 a year, you will notice a tax increase in your pay packet in April. This is because the 10% income tax band has been doubled to 20% by the Labour Government, in a change announced by Gordon Brown last year but only brought into force this month. This extra tax is being used to cut taxes on higher earners.

Labour's changes mean that tax cuts for the rich are being paid for by tax increases on the poor. Who would have thought a Labour Government would ever do that?

A non-pensioner with taxable earnings of £8000 will pay an extra £170 income tax, while someone earning £50,000 will have a tax cut of £340.