Despairing economists warn Reeves’s income tax U-turn will make system ‘too complicated’ – and will wipe out buffer zone

Rachel Reeves’s former top adviser has joined leading economists in warning that her decision to abandon income tax rises in the upcoming Budget and pursue smaller interventions will “overcomplicate” the system.

The chancellor was widely expected to hike income tax in her fiscal plans later this month to fill a significant hole in the public finances. But the Financial Times has reported she has “ripped up” her earlier proposals and will look at different ways to shore up the fiscal deficit.