UK disposable incomes fell in first three years of coalition government, says ONS

Year-on-year rises in income tax threshold, which cost the Treasury billions in lost revenue, unable to protect households from the economic downturn

British household spending power fell in the first three years of the coalition government despite millions of people being taken out of the lowest income tax band, according to a report by the Office for National Statistics.

Year-on-year rises in the personal income tax threshold, which cost the Treasury billions of pounds in lost revenue, were unable to protect households from an economic downturn marked by pay freezes and rising energy bills.

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