By Jessica Frank-Keyes Rachel Reeves has hiked employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) by 1.2 per cent, as she delivered the Labour government’s first Autumn Budget in office, which saw taxes rise by a record £40bn and government borrowing increase. The Chancellor unveiled the rise – which is set to see the levy hit 15 per cent for firms and raise some £25bn in tax receipts over the forecast – as part of a package of fiscal measures aimed at setting out Labour’s agenda for power. Reeves also said she was reducing the secondary threshold – the “level at which employers start paying n…