Higher rate taxpayers

People returning to work after Easter face a series of tax bombshells from today as the Chancellor seeks to pay down public debt.

The recession is predicted to cut the number of higher rate taxpayers by one million in two years, according to HMRC figures.

Officials at Bradford & Bingley's the MarketPlace have gone on the attack against offset mortgages as still "the privilege of the wealthy" because they are substantially more expensive than variable rate deals to the average borrower.