A petition calling for the personal tax allowance to be increased to £18,000 has passed 50,000 signatures, putting renewed pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey over the frozen income tax threshold. Its prolonged freeze means that as wages increase, more workers are pulled into income tax through fiscal drag. TRENDING Stories Videos Your SayThe Treasury has said raising the allowance to £18,000 would cost more than £40billion a year. The freeze began in March 2021 when then‑Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that income tax thresholds would no longer rise with inflation. Rising state pension payments mean more pensioners are being drawn into income tax.