For hard-pressed Middle Britain, the latest supermarket price war has started not a moment too soon.
　　Stagnant earnings growth has combined with an ever-increasing burden of VAT, income tax and other Government-related charges to put heavy downward pressure on living standards, as is expected to be confirmed by official figures later this month.
　　In 2011, wages and salaries increased by 2.1 per cent, while taxes on income and wealth rose by 3.6 per cent. Not surprisingly, household disposable income after taxes and inflation fell by 1.2 per cent.
　　More recent figures underline the effect of taxes on household finances. The official Consumer Prices Index - Constant Taxes measure (CPI-CT) calculates what inflation would be were taxes to have stayed the same rather than gone up. In the year to April, CPI-CT rose by 2.8 per cent, against three per cent for the CPI.
　　One stark illustration of ministerially mandated higher prices comes from the major household budget item of energy.
　　According to official European Union statistics, Britain has the lowest average domestic gas bills of any EU country and among the lowest electricity bills.
　　Last month Centrica, parent company of British Gas, said rising non-commodity costs would add about £50 to the average dual fuel bill this year, £40 of which will be caused by higher transport and distribution charges (which are Government regulated) and by Government-mandated energy-efficiency measures.
　　The remaining £10 comprises State-related items, such as metering costs.
　　On June 26, the Office for National Statistics will publish figures showing the effects of taxes and benefits on household income.
　　These are expected to confirm that taxes on the middle classes have risen, while they benefit less than lower-income families from welfare and other Government spending.
　　快讯：由于英国经济不景气，政府又大肆加收增值税，导致许多英国家庭的经济陷入危机，特别是中产阶级家庭。根据欧盟调查数据显示，英国是今年平均使用天然气最少的国家。这和它繁重的税收不无关系。英国国家统计局称，26日会公布英国家庭的税收和福利情况，根据预测，可能中产家庭的福利情况还不如低收入家庭。