what taxes will labour raise

Labour has already raised, or signalled it will raise, a range of non‑headline taxes (targeting wealth, landlords, investors, businesses and certain consumers) while repeatedly promising not to increase the main rates of Income Tax, National Insurance or VAT for “working people”. Much of this has come through tightening reliefs, freezing thresholds and increasing specific duties rather than big, easy‑to‑understand rate hikes on wages.

Key taxes Labour is raising

• Property, savings and dividend income taxes
  • The basic and higher rate of tax on property, savings and dividend income are being increased by 2 percentage points, and the additional rate on property and savings income also rises by 2 points.

* This specifically hits landlords, people with significant investment portfolios, and higher‑income savers rather than salary earners alone.

• Employer National Insurance (back‑door tax on jobs)
  • To keep the promise not to raise the main Income Tax/National Insurance rates on individuals, Labour has instead raised the employer rate of Class 1 National Insurance and lowered the threshold where it starts.

* This raises tens of billions over the parliament and is effectively a tax rise on employment costs, which employers may pass on via lower wages, fewer jobs or higher prices.

• Gambling and online betting duties
  • Remote Gaming Duty on online casino‑style gambling is being increased from 21% to 40%, and duty on online betting rises from 15% to 25% in response to the growth and perceived harm of online gambling.

* These changes are forecast to raise over £1 billion a year by 2031, while taxes on in‑person gambling and horse racing are left unchanged and Bingo Duty is abolished from April 2026.

• Capital Gains Tax (CGT) reforms
  • Reliefs on business sales to Employee Ownership Trusts are being scaled back: instead of 100% relief from CGT, the relief is reduced to 50%, so half of the gain becomes taxable.

* Broader CGT reforms made across two Budgets are expected to push CGT receipts from about £14 billion to £30 billion by 2030, indicating a substantial effective increase in tax on gains.

• Inheritance Tax (IHT) tightening for business/agricultural assets
  • Previous reforms reduced generous IHT reliefs on agricultural and business assets , limiting the scope for very valuable estates to escape tax.

* The latest change aligns these reforms with wider IHT rules but allows the 100% relief allowance to be transferred between spouses, so the system is tighter overall but still mitigates some family impacts.

• Business rates rebalancing
  • Over 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties get permanently lower business rates, but this is paid for by higher rates on properties worth £500,000+ , including large online‑retail warehouses.

* This is effectively a tax rise on big property owners and online giants, offset by reliefs for high‑street firms.

• Other “wealth and avoidance” measures
  • Labour has already moved to raise about £8 billion a year by 2030 from changes hitting private equity, private schools, private jets and by abolishing the non‑dom regime; this is framed as taxing wealth and closing loopholes rather than new mass taxes.

* Additional measures include capping certain trust‑related charges and tightening avoidance routes to make it harder for high‑net‑worth individuals to shield income and gains.

What Labour says it won’t raise

• No rise in main Income Tax, NI or VAT rates
  • Labour’s 2024 manifesto promised not to increase National Insurance, or the basic, higher or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT , arguing these are taxes on “working people”.

* Recent Budget statements have reiterated that there will be no increase in these headline rates, even as other areas of the system are tightened.

• Corporation tax “cap” at 25%
  • Labour has pledged to cap corporation tax at 25% for the whole parliament, while keeping “full expensing” and the annual investment allowance to support business investment.

* Instead of raising the headline rate on all profits, they are looking more to targeted changes, especially where they think behaviour is being distorted or where there are windfall profits.

Likely future tax directions being discussed

These are areas commentators and think tanks highlight as likely or plausible future targets, even where there is no firm policy yet:

1. Council tax reform
   • Analysts expect changes that would make higher‑value properties pay more , possibly through revaluation or new bands, as a way to raise revenue without touching national tax rates.

2. Pensions and salary sacrifice
   • Policy experts point to scope for tightening the tax treatment of pensions and savings , especially where employers and higher earners use pension contributions or salary‑sacrifice to reduce National Insurance bills.

3. Electric vehicle (EV) charges
   • With fuel duty declining, a new charge on EV drivers (for example, through road pricing or a specific levy) is widely discussed as a future revenue source that Labour may eventually have to implement.

4. Further gambling and “harm”‑related taxes
   • Having already increased online gambling duties and announced a Vaping Products Duty and changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, there is scope for further health‑related or behaviour‑shaping taxes, especially if fiscal pressures grow.

5. Wealth tax debates
   • Some Labour MPs and commentators continue to advocate a broader wealth tax , but the leadership has been cautious, preferring to squeeze existing bases (CGT, IHT, property, non‑doms) rather than introduce a brand‑new levy.

How this fits the “working people” promise

• Labour’s broad strategy is to protect headline rates on wages while:
  • Freezing or adjusting thresholds (which drags more people into tax over time)
  • Raising employer‑side and asset‑based taxes
  • Tightening reliefs, exemptions and niche regimes used more by wealthier households.

• This lets the government say it has not raised taxes on “working people” in the narrow, manifesto sense, even though the overall tax burden remains high and is shifting toward wealth, property, employers and specific consumption (gambling, vaping, sugary drinks).

Bottom line: Labour is not planning a big explicit hike in Income Tax, NI or VAT, but is already raising more money by taxing wealth, landlords, investors, online gambling, and large property owners more heavily, alongside employer NICs and tighter reliefs.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.