On Wednesday, the British Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) reported that Britons are looking at the biggest fall in standards of living since record-keeping began in the 1950’s, as well as the highest taxes since World War II, all as the economy is poised to come to a halt this year.

The report states real household disposable income, a proxy-measurement for real living standards, will fall by 5.7% during the financial years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.

The report said, “While this is 1.4 percentage points less than forecast in November, it would still be the largest two-year fall since records began in 1956-57.”

Surging energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as rapidly growing consumer goods prices triggered inflation that is growing faster than nominal wages. That has produced a record fall in disposable income according to the OBR, which added, “this means that real living standards are still 0.4% lower than their pre-pandemic levels.”

The forecast predicted living standards will not rise back to the pre-pandemic state until 2028, as taxes are on track to hit the highest levels since World War II.

The report went on to note that Britain, “continues to see the tax burden reach a post-war high of 37.7% of GDP at the forecast horizon in 2027-28, including the highest ratio of corporation tax receipts to GDP since the tax was introduced in 1965.”

Despite claims by the UK government the nation will avoid a recession, the economy is forecast to shrink by 0.2% this year, adding to the problems Britons will face.