The Chancellor, John Healey, will raise taxes on banks and landlords to pay for cost-of-living help in Wednesday's Budget, according to the Spectator. It also says he is expected to increase gambling levies. The magazine gives no rates, yields or details of how the landlord measure would work. The Treasury has confirmed none of this.
The Spectator reports that Healey has said the money for 3% of GDP on defence by 2030 will not be found until next autumn's spending review.
It puts current fiscal headroom at £10bn to £12bn, against about £24bn left by Rachel Reeves. It says experts expect bond markets to stay calm if headroom is at least £15bn, and it expects the final figure to be around that mark. These estimates have not been independently checked.
The Spectator also reports that Healey has ruled out a rise in capital gains tax and is leaning against cutting the mansion tax threshold to £1.5m. It says he has imposed "military-style" secure compartmentalisation on the Budget, including classified computer systems.
It expects a boost to the Warm Home Discount, the dropping of fuel duty rises and some business tax cuts.