Rachel Reeves is launching a £26bn tax raid at the Budget. James Manning/PA Wire

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced an avalanche of tax rises on the wealthy and on working people, adding up to £26bn to fund extra spending over the next five years, as she vowed to make the country more “secure”.

Her biggest announcement included freezing income tax and national insurance thresholds until 2031 to raise £11bn by the end of parliament.

It represents another government U-turn after Reeves said last year she would unfreeze tax bands from 2028 in order to keep to “every single promise” she made in the Labour manifesto.

The measure is widely referred to as a “ stealth tax ” as earnings are taxed more in real terms due to the rise in inflation, with people on the state pension set to be d

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