Jonathan Djanogly has welcomed new figures showing further cuts to income tax announced this week by the Chancellor will take an estimated 2,301 low-earners in Huntingdonshire out of paying income tax altogether, as well as reducing income tax for 58,975, helping working people keep more of what they earn. In this week’s Budget, the Chancellor announced that the personal allowance – set to reach £11,000 from April this year – will rise again to £11,500 from April 2017, meaning a typical basic rate taxpayer will be paying over £1,000 less income tax than when we came to office in 2010. The Chancellor also announced that the threshold for the higher rate of income tax would increase from the £43,000 it is set to rise to this April, to £45,000 in April 2017 – a tax cut of over £400 for middle Britain. This will lift over half a million people on middle incomes – people who should never have been paying the higher rate – out of the higher rate tax band altogether. As a result of these changes, over 31 million people will see their income tax cut compared to this year, while 1.3 million of the lowest paid will be taken out of income tax altogether. This demonstrates that we are well on our way to delivering on our manifesto commitment to raise the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500 and the higher rate threshold to £50,000 by the end of this Parliament. Jonathan commented: ‘As Conservatives we know that the best way to make families more secure is to help people keep more of what they’ve worked hard to earn and ensure our country lives within its means. ‘That’s why, since we came to government in 2010, we’ve been cutting income tax at the same time as reducing the deficit. I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement that we will go even further, lifting an estimated 2,301 people in Huntingdonshire out of paying income tax altogether at the same time as cutting taxes for over 31 million people across the country. ‘This is the path that has delivered us one of the strongest economies in the world, and in the face of risks in the global economy, it is the path we must continue on to provide a secure future for the next generation.’