Budget: Millions of hard-working Brits on Universal Credit WILL get extra cash in surprise announcement

MILLIONS of Brits on Universal Credit WILL be able to keep more of what they earn, Rishi Sunak confirmed today.

The Chancellor confirmed The Sun’s story this lunchtime that he would slash the harsh Universal Credit taper rate that punishes workers by a whopping EIGHT per cent.

Simon Walker HM TreasuryRishi Sunak made the changes, announcing it in today’s Budget[/caption]

In a win for The Sun’s Make Universal Credit Work campaign, the Treasury will allow workers to keep more of the money they earn and incentivise people to take on extra work.

Better than expected growth figures means the axe will not have to fall so hard at Wednesday’s Budget.

Yesterday, Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: “In the short term there is going to be some good news for the Chancellor because the economy has grown faster than projected and that will feed through to the public finances.”

The respected economist predicted Mr Sunak would have “tens of billions” of headroom freeing him up to possibly ease the cost of living crisis with some Budget rabbits out of the hat.

The harsh taper rate effectively taxes Brits 63p in the pound on anything they earn over their base level of benefits – which puts many thousands off applying for better paid jobs or taking on more hours.

The package is expected to be worth around £3billion – and will crucially target those who are already working rather than the flat £20 Covid uplift, which was given to everyone.

Between the two measures, it’s likely that it will more than offset the £1,000 annual cut, which came in last month.

Simon Walker HM TreasuryRishi Sunak preparing for tomorrow’s budget[/caption]