Stories

Sun, 25 Oct 2026

Sun, 25 Oct 2026 Four ways Labour could raise money in the Budget without hiking income tax

Chancellor John Healey may need to raise money to boost his fiscal headroom - BBC Verify examines what options could be on the table.

* Increasing the surcharge on corporation tax paid by banks from 3% to 5.5%, which could raise an additional £1bn-£2bn per year
* Doubling the tax on electronic gaming machines, such as those found in betting shops and adult gaming centres, from 20% to 40%, which could raise between £275m and £460m per year
* Making big online marketplaces such as Amazon, Ebay and Temu responsible for collecting VAT owed by retailers selling on their platforms, which could raise around £1bn in extra VAT per year These measures would raise a maximum of only around £3.5bn per year, which is small relative to the sums of money needed to restore the government's "headroom" and pay for new spending. Other possible measures that have been considered but ruled out include:
* Raising taxes on capital gains
* Extending the mansion tax The government has also been considering reducing welfare benefits to help meet its spending targets, with options including restricting access to working-age benefits or cutting health and disability payments. However, experts say this could push people into poverty and might not lead to immediate savings for the Treasury.