The poorest members of society bore the brunt of tax and duty hikes under Chancellor George Osborne's deficit-busting austerity measures, official figures revealed yesterday.
The research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) covers the amount households were left with after paying taxes and receiving benefits in the year to April 2011.
The poorest fifth saw the chunk of average disposable incomes that they spent on indirect taxes, such as VAT and duties on alcohol, fuel and tobacco, rise from 28% in the previous year to 31%, or £3365 out of £10858, squeezing living standards further.
We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.
Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.
