‘Like a smiling assassin Hunt quietly imposed biggest tax rise ever’

They call ’em stealth taxes for a reason. And, like a bullet from an assassin’s high-powered sniper rifle, he’s made sure we won’t see them coming until the damage is done. But make no mistake, Britain (and that means you) is set for its highest tax burden in history. Fiscal drag will see to that.Fiscal drag is as unstoppable as gravity. There is birth, there is death, and there is fiscal drag. A Chancellor’s best friend, it allows the Government to appear magnanimous and measured as they freeze tax thresholds – in the full and certain knowledge that rising prices and wages will, in pretty short order, pull more and more workers into higher tax brackets. Magic money.In truth we shouldn’t be surprised, we knew it was coming. We have been spending money like a teenage Lottery winner and everybody knew it could not go on. A global pandemic, the Russian fascist’s war, paying half the nation to sit on their backsides for a year and Rishi paying for our steak and chips – the books were hardly going to balance.Strangely though, after the last mini-budget which saw Truss and Kwarteng giggling like teenagers who’d inexplicably been made class prefects and terrifying everyone from your corner shop owner to Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey, it was almost comforting to have the mean Tories back in charge. ‘Best laughs of the day? Hunt paying tribute to Liz Truss’s ‘leadership” (Image: Sky News)The grim faces, the sickening numbers, the ‘harsh economic medicine, not gonna lie’ Tories, they’re the Tories we probably like best. And weirdly probably trust the most. You know where you stand with a Tory like that.But it is definitely going to be tough love. In total the Chancellor announced more than £20bn of tax rises – jumping up to 37.5 percent of GDP in 2024-25.That is the highest level pretty much since the Allies secured victory in Europe.With an election looming in 2024 we can expect a teensy sweetener – but it’s going to be a long year or two. Oh, and after the election – that’s when the aforementioned fiscal drag will really kick in.Elsewhere corporation tax will also increase from 19 percent to 25 percent from next April, raising £18bn.Tax-free allowances on share dividends and capital gains have been battered and electric cars will now face road tax too.But it wasn’t all catastrophic. The NHS was given an extra £3.3bn and Britain’s desperate social care system an £4.7bn boost.Education will get a further £2.3bn and, to both court the OAP and Red Wall vote and act as a foil to Labour, pensions credit will rise by 10.1 percent and the minimum wage by 9.7 percent to £10.42.Mr Hunt also confirmed the pensions triple lock – the focus of a Daily Express campaign – will remain.Best laughs of the day? Hunt paying tribute to Liz Truss’s “leadership” (while chucking in a not-so-oblique suggestion that everything was all her fault) and suggesting that “Britain’s credibility cannot be taken for granted.” After the Liz and Kwasi economic meltdown – ya think Jezza?!One of his speech-writers’ more irritating phrases we credulous unwashed were supposed to take to heart was: “To be British is to be compassionate.”I guess we’ll see just how compassionate in the polling booths in about 18 months’ time Jeremy.