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Taxes are like onions

7 November 2025|

All kinds of ideas have been floated on how the government could raise revenue in the UK’s Autumn Budget. From hikes on income tax or a new wealth tax, to spending cuts, income tax/National Insurance ‘two up, two down’, or even changes to the fiscal rules — the list goes on. Less discussed than most has been extending the freeze on personal tax thresholds; but this is perhaps the most effective weapon in a Chancellor’s armoury for increasing the tax take. As the grumpy ogre Shrek might have said, taxes are like onions, and onions have layers. The UK tax code is said to be the longest and most complicated in the world – with so many different rules, combined

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