Reforms, rollouts and freezes in the tax and benefit system

The tax and benefit system is undergoing significant change over the coming years. As well as the headline changes to income tax and National Insurance announced in the mini Budget and by the previous government, various reforms to benefits are being gradually rolled out to more and more people. At the same time, high inflation means that freezes to various thresholds, allowances and benefit amounts are having a large impact on the shape and size of the tax and benefit system.

In this event, part of the IFS Green Budget 2022 in association with Citi and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we examined what this combination of policy choices means for household finances. We also discussed why freezes are detrimental to the quality and transparency of policy making, and made some recommendations on what should change.