Despite his tax cuts, Sunak remains a tax-raising Chancellor Rishi Sunak refused to back down on the National Insurance hike in his Spring Statement, but to ameliorate the pain for lower earners, the Chancellor did increase the threshold at which it is paid. He brought the NI threshold in line with the personal allowance for tax, increasing it by £3,000 to £12,570, at a cost of £6bn. The move, effective from July, halves the £12bn he expected to raise from his national insurance rise next month and hands 30m people a £330 tax cut. Mr Sunak also announced a 1% reduction in the 20p basic income tax rate in 2024, costing £5bn and slashed 5p off fuel duty. Despite the efforts to bolster his tax-cutting credentials, the Office for Budget Responsibility said the “net tax cuts announced in this Spring Statement offset around a sixth of the net tax rises introduced by this Chancellor.” Sunak will raise billions from last year’s freeze in income tax thresholds, the national insurance headline increase and a jump in corporation tax next year from 19 to 25%. Mr Sunak argued the challenging global outlook meant the Government had to take a “responsible and sustainable” approach to its finances.