Testing measures before the big day can be helpful, but the upcoming Budget has been a feeding frenzy, making it impossible to distinguish fan fiction from genuine policy, says Tim Sarson

The Autumn Budget speculation season has become rather a circus. I thought last year was unusually long and noisy but 2025 takes things to another level.

Since the summer everyone with an informed view on the UK tax system – and plenty without – has been putting their two pennies worth into the mix. We always had Treasury insiders flying kites ahead of the statement, but this year they’re joined by a covey of think tanks doing their think tanking over the fiscal landscape, and in an environment of tax rises we’re witnessing the birth of a new genre of fan-fiction devoted to speculating in lurid detail on the most bloodcurdling hypothetical threats to certain groups of taxpayers.

So our annual KPMG pre-budget predictions blog is at a record word count. So much to discuss that we’ve had to reformat what used to be a breezy few paragraphs into a veritable dissertation with drop down menus. Add up all the mooted tax raising ideas and nevermind closing the deficit, the amounts being touted would be enough to start up our own modest sovereign wealth fund.

In an environment of tax rises we’re witnessing the birth of a new genre of fan-fiction devoted to speculating in lurid detail on the most bloodcurdling........

© City A.M.