Is it likely to make a real difference to everyday households?

Cameron pledged to raise the personal tax allowance by £2,000 to £12,500 and to increase the 40p tax threshold to £50,000 by 2020 if he is returned to power next year.

The Conservative party said that the hike in the personal allowance would take 1 million more of the lowest paid workers out of income tax – and give a tax cut to a further 30 million. It also claimed changing the thresholds would see tax bills reduced for those earning between £50,000 and £100,000 by £1,313.

However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, talking to the Times, said that once inflation-linked rises were taken into account the pledge would be worth about £160 a year for basic-rate taxpayers and £430 for those currently paying tax at 40%.

The real figure will depend on how much over the threshold a person earns and how many other sources of income or investments they have. For example, someone on £45,000 would be paying an additional 20% on any investment income not held in an Isa. On the other hand, they wouldn’t receive the same level of tax relief for pension contributions. 

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Certainly, the pledge would reverse the trend to incorporate more and more people into higher rate tax bands. Even Cameron admitted that: “in the past couple of decades, far too many have been dragged into it: teachers, police officers.” 

It may make a difference to ordinary households, but the difference is unlikely to be profound.