The hike in income tax more than made up for the slight drop in national insurance contributions (NICs) in February after the Chancellor cut employee NICs by 2%.

With two months of NI cuts in the figures, it would be clear to assume the total take of NICs has been reduced. However, since April 2023 there has been £1bn more taken in NICs compared to the same period of the 2022/23 tax year.

However, for the month of February NICs did drop by £3m compared to February 2023. The £2bn of extra income tax brought in as a result of thresholds being frozen has recovered this loss.

Joe Neil, a private client manager at Blick Rothenberg, said: ‘HMRC’s total takings continue to increase faster than inflation, showing the increased tax burden being put on the country.

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