Rachel Reeves won't stop at income tax - 9 more taxes she may hike by stealth in Budget

Rachel Reeves looks set to increase income tax in next month's Budget. With her fiscal black hole heading towards £50billion, she probably has little choice. Yet putting a penny on income tax will only raise £8billion. There's a lot more she'll have to do besides.

Reeves will no doubt resort to the old Treasury trick of pushing through tax hikes by stealth, hoping we won't notice. Here are nine sneaky ways she may grab our wealth, while pretending she isn't.

1. Extend the tax threshold freeze. First, the obvious one. Income tax thresholds are already frozen until 2028. It would be simple for Reeves to extend that to 2030, raising £8billion for the Treasury. Likelihood: 9/10.

2. Make more people pay National Insurance (NI). Today, buy-to-let landlords don't pay NI on their rental income. Changing that could raise £2.3 billion. Reeves is also considering slapping NI on lawyers, doctors and other professionals working through partnerships. That would raise another £2billion. Likelihood: 8/10.

3. Make pensioners pay NI. There's also a proposal to cut 2p off the NI rate, then increase income tax by the same amount. This slippery, sneaky idea would hit pensioners, who don't pay NI currently. It'll raise another £3billion though. Likelihood: 5/10.

4. Slash pensions tax relief. Tax relief on pension contributions costs HMRC a fortune. Reeves is considering axing higher rates of 45% and 40%, and replacing them with a flat rate of 25% for all. This would boost basic rate taxpayers and raise at least £10billion. It's technically complex though. Likelihood: 4/10.

5. Slash the Cash ISA. Reeves is expected to halve the Cash ISA allowance to £10,000, hitting older savers, who favour cash.

It won't raise much at first, but the savings will grow over the years. It's also risky. The Building Societies Association warns it will hit mortgage lending, which is funded by savers' deposits, knocking £2.5billion off growth and tax revenues. Reeves might do it anyway. Likelihood: 8/10.

6. New property taxes. Our homes are sitting targets. One rumour says she could slap a 1% annual charge on home values above £2m, a so-called "mansion tax". Alternatively, she might introduce new, higher council tax bands. While only the better off will be hit at first, more will get sucked in over time. It could raise £1billion. Likelihood: 6/10.

7. Fuel duty hike. It's 14 years since the last fuel duty increase back in 2011, with prices even cut by the Conservatives by 5p per litre back in 2022.

That's a total discount of 10p per litre of petrol and diesel. Reeves could axe it in a move motorists would hate but the Treasury would love, to the tune £5billion. Likelihood: 9/10.

8. Inheritance tax raid. Reeves slapped inheritance tax (IHT) on unused pensions in her last Budget, and will no doubt be back again. She might scrap the seven-year rule on IHT gifts and the £3,000 annual allowance, making every gift subject to IHT, within a lifetime limit. This one will hurt if it happens, but raise up to £2billion. Likelihood: 8/10.

9. Taxes on gambling. Punters' winnings from gambling are not taxed. Reeves is unlikely to change that but she might slap VAT on bets, and hike taxes on gambling firms. They will no doubt pass the added cost onto punters. This so-called "sin tax" could raise £3.2billion but destroy thousands of jobs. Higher duties on other sin taxes such as alcohol and cigarettes are also likely. Likelihood: 9/10.