Jeremy Hunt’s budget is a tough sell – except to the top 1%

Pensions tax break for the very wealthiest contrasts badly with whopping increases faced by basic and higher rate taxpayers

As an advertising slogan, “pay more get less” has limited appeal and so Jeremy Hunt was keen to focus on other aspects of his budget as he did the customary tour of the TV and radio studios to explain the reasons behind his tax and spending decisions.

Two of Britain’s leading thinktanks felt no need for such reticence, the Resolution Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies instead using their post-budget analysis to highlight that families are paying more in tax but getting less back from the state in return.