New research from the Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) has revealed that families will be faced with a whopping £5.2 billion tax bill on their festive spending this Christmas. Over December, the average household will fork out an extra £191.75 in taxes, including on VAT, fuel duty, sugar tax, and alcohol taxes. The TPA points out this is equivalent to 23 Tesco Finest 800g Christmas puddings, enough to serve 184 people…

The paper also shows that, as more Brits move their shopping online, the proposed 2% online sales tax would also add another £57 million to the overall Christmas tax bill. Speaking on the findings this morning, John O’Connell said:

“Despite families already forking out a fortune this festive season, the taxman has clearly decided ‘tis not the season to be jolly. After a cancelled Christmas last year taxpayers deserve a break, but HMRC’s litany of levies leave a big hole in their finances. The taxman should stop playing Grinch and leave us a bit more cash in our Christmas stockings.”

All this while inflation soars and energy bills rise…