Reports: Osborne to axe 50p tax rate

Nationals claim chancellor is set to lower highest income tax rate to 40 per cent in Budget next week

Chancellor George Osborne is set to axe the 50 per cent top-level income tax rate in the budget next week, if reports in the national press are to be believed.

The Guardian claims that senior ministers have been locked in talks today and will remain so on Monday. Liberal Democrat attempts to block Osborne's headline measure are reportedly doomed.

The 50p tax rate was introduced by the previous government in 2010 and applies to those earning north of £150,000 a year. Prior to its introduction, the ceiling had stood at 40 per cent for upwards of 20 years.

The Guardian report claims that a study from the Treasury, set for publication next week, will show that the government's coffers are being swelled by hundreds of millions each year by the rate increase, rather than the £2.6bn that had been expected.