Families are ‘£150 worse off this Christmas & will face a £700 hit in spring’

FAMILIES face a £150 cost of living whack to their wallets this Christmas and a £700 hit in the spring, Boris Johnson has been warned.

The PM is under fresh pressure to slash taxes for hard-working Brits struggling in the teeth of a cost of living crisis.

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Labour today ramps up calls for ministers to scrap VAT on heating bills over the winter months to ease the pinch.

Party analysis of Bank of England stats reckons the average family will be £148 worse off this festive season than normal.

While households spent £3,282 last Christmas, that will be £3,430 this year.

But the real sting will come in Spring when Brits face double-whammy rises inNational Insurance payments and the energy price cap – while the freeze in the income tax personal allowance also kicks in.

Labour says someone on £30,000 a year faces paying £330 more owing to the freeze and 1.25 per cent NICs rise.

From April Rishi Sunak is raising NICs to foot the spiralling health and social care bill.

And an expected 30 per cent rise in the energy price cap would shoot up bills by £383 – leaving your average Brit as much as £700 worse off in total.

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves told The Sun: “Right now, people are being hit by a cost-of-living crisis which has seen energy bills soar, food costs increase and the weekly budget stretched.

“That’s why Labour is calling on the government to immediately remove VAT on household heating bills over the winter months.

“On top of the biggest tax burden in 70 years, Conservative complacency is trapping us in a high tax, low growth cycle, making the cost-of-living crisis worse and leaving working people paying the price.”

A Government Spokesperson said: “We know people are facing pressures with the cost of living, which is why we are taking action worth more than £4.2bn to help them.

This includes targeting support to the most vulnerable and low-income households over the winter months with the Warm Home Discount Scheme, Winter Fuel Payments, Cold Weather Payments, and Household Support Fund.

“Domestic bills, such as gas and electricity, are already subject to the reduced rate of 5 per cent of VAT and our Energy Price Cap will remain in place.”

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk