Williamson: May should cut taxes to raise revenue like Lawson
THERESA MAY should follow the example of Donald Trump and Lord Lawson by cutting taxes to generate increased revenue, the Defence Secretary has said.
The Daily Telegraph has learnt that Gavin Williamson told Cabinet on Tuesday that the Tories should return to their core values by “giving people more power over their own money”.
His call comes amid splits in the Government over Mrs May’s decision to fund a £20billion NHS boost. The Treasury is examining a range of tax rises to help fund the policy, including lifting the eight-year freeze on fuel duty.
However, Mr Williamson argued at Cabinet that raising taxes was not necessarily the best way to bring down public-sector debt and boost Treasury income. He highlighted the move by Lord Lawson who, as Tory chancellor, cut the top rate of income tax from 60p to 40p in 1988. Within a decade, the amount of the UK’S tax paid by the top one per cent of earners had risen from 14 per cent to 21 per cent. The US president has also made huge cuts to corporation tax and seen strong growth.
“He [Williamson] was saying that if you cut taxes you can actually generate more revenue,” a Cabinet source said. “It’s a belief at our core … giving people more power over their own money. They spend it better and generate more income for the Government because they are creating more wealth.
“Nigel Lawson got a lot of things right with that. If you look at the US, there have been both tax cuts and investment and a very strong economy.”