George Osborne's emergency Budget will claw back a mammoth £120 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes from hard-pressed taxpayers over the next five years, according to figures.
Forecasts in the Budget Red Book reveal the Exchequer reaping an extra £8.1 billion in the current financial year - of which more than a third is accounted for by January's VAT hike to 20%.
By 2014/15, the annual Treasury haul rises to £40.2 billion - including £13.5 billion in extra VAT and £11.5 billion in welfare savings.
© 2012 The Press Association Limited
