The energy price cap is expected to increase by as much as 50pc in April, the same month as the Chancellor’s hike in national insurance contributions comes into force, adding 1.25 percentage points to the bill on workers and the same again on their employers.

Jacob Rees-Mogg has urged the Chancellor to halt the tax raid, Conservative MP Jake Berry has asked him to “think again”, and Christine Jardine, the Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokesman, has called it an “unfair stealth tax that will clobber families”.

The Government has argued that freezing allowances is a fair way to pay for public services.

A spokesman said: “The UK has the highest basic personal tax allowance in the G20 – and maintaining the threshold is a progressive approach to fund our world leading public services and rebuild the public finances following Covid.

“Higher earners will continue to contribute more, and nobody’s take-home pay will be less than it is now in cash terms.”

Prices are also surging abroad. Inflation across the eurozone reached a new record high of 5pc in December, double the European Central Bank’s 2pc target and defying economists’ expectations of a fall.