The Tories have taken aim at Rachel Reeves after she admitted to “significantly” hiking taxes on Britons. The Chancellor made the comment during a speech on Wednesday morning in Leeds.
She said: “We already put up taxes significantly in the two Budgets to steady our public finances, which has enabled interest rates to come down six times.” The tax rises in Ms Reeves’s most recent Budget totalled around £26billion, while her 2024 Budget heaped an estimated £40billion of hikes on Britons. They happened despite a General Election manifesto pledge not to increase taxes on working people.
Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: "Rachel Reeves promised she wouldn’t be back with another tax-raising Budget – now she admits that she hiked taxes on workers, savings and businesses.
"First, Reeves introduced the jobs tax, driving up unemployment. Then, having promised not to come back for more, she did exactly that – to pay for a welfare splurge to appease her own restive backbenchers.
"Labour lack the backbone to get spending under control. Only the Conservatives will cut spending and deliver a stronger economy."
Ms Reeves made the comment while suggesting financial help for pubs amid concern over a business rates hike will not be extended to other hospitality businesses.
Asked whether she was risking killing off the high street by restricting aid to pubs, the Chancellor told journalists on a visit to Leeds: “During the pandemic, quite rightly, a lot of temporary support was given to the hospitality sector, particularly to pubs, because they were closed.
“That’s not same for the whole economy and not the same for the whole high street. Many shops were able to stay open during the pandemic, and so their valuations stayed pretty steady.
"But the valuations of pubs collapsed, and as a result, their business rates payable fell. In our business rates review, we have permanently reduced the business rate tax for our high streets and for smaller businesses.
“But as that temporary relief comes to an end – although we are putting £4.3billion of temporary support in – and as those valuations have risen, the tax paid on business rates for some pubs is going up.
“And that’s why I’ve said, working with the industry, that we are working on additional support for those businesses. But if you are putting in support, you’ve got to find the money somewhere else.
“We already put up taxes significantly in the two Budgets to steady our public finances, which has enabled interest rates to come down six times.
“So we’re working with the hospitality sector. I’ve been very clear that there is a package to come on top of what we’ve already done for pubs, and we’ll be announcing that in the days ahead.”
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