Industry reacts to 'agonising pain' of fiscal drag

The data shows an estimated 37.4 million income taxpayers for the 2024/25 tax year, a 13% rise from 2021/22, translating to 4.4 million more people paying tax. Pensioners have been particularly affected, with 8.5 million taxpayers over state pension age—a 26% increase since 2021/22. Hargreaves Lansdown head of retirement analysis Helen Morrissey highlighted the dual nature of the rise: "Frozen tax thresholds are biting down hard on pensioner incomes. This is due in part to pensioners having larger incomes in retirement, which is positive. "However, the deep freeze on tax thresholds...