Tories ‘more likely to raise tax than Labour’

Almost two thirds of public believe burden would rise if Conservatives won next election, Yougov poll finds

‘Anyone who tells you that you can borrow more today and tomorrow will simply sort itself out just doesn’t care about the future’

‘We must always ensure that the tax burden is reasonable. And we are at the upper reaches of the reasonableness of the tax burden’

THE public thinks taxes are more likely to rise under a Conservative government than a Labour administration, a poll has shown.

Sixty-four per cent of respondents said they thought the Tories would raise taxes if they won the next election, but only 56 per cent said that Labour would, the Yougov survey found.

The reversal of the parties’ usual polling positions on tax came after Boris Johnson announced that National Insurance contributions would be increased for companies and employees in order to pay for social care reforms.

The tax rise is not popular with the public, and has been accused of disproportionately affecting working people to pay for the care of pensioners. A person on a salary of £30,000 will pay £255 more each year under the reforms.

Yesterday’s poll also showed the public is on average as likely to say that Labour is their preferred party on taxation as they are the Conservatives.

A quarter of the 1,700 respondents said they would trust either party.

Six in 10 people thought the Government was handling tax policy badly, while just 20 per cent believed the economy would improve in the next year. The latest polling shows Britons are concerned about various aspects of the economy, including inflation.

It is thought that an increase in energy bills created by rising natural gas prices has worried voters further.

Trust in the Government’s handling of the economy tumbled around the time that prices began to rise and Mr Johnson announced the National Insurance increase.

At this week’s Conservative party conference, Tory MPS and ministers raised concerns about the Government’s tax policy, with Jacob Reesmogg warning that the tax burden had reached its highest reasonable level.

Further increases would lead to a reduction in receipts to the Treasury as the economy would be stifled, he said.

Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, played down the suggestion that taxes would be raised further but stressed the need to restore balance in the public finances after the pandemic before the Government could implement any tax cuts.

“While I know tax rises are unpopular, some will even say un-conservative, I’ll tell you what is un-conservative: unfunded pledges, reckless borrowing, and soaring debt,” he said in a speech to members.

“Anyone who tells you that you can borrow more today and tomorrow will simply sort itself out just doesn’t care about the future.”

The poll came as Tony Danker, the chief executive of the CBI, said the Labour Party was looking “better on business taxes” after Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, promised to scrap “unpopular” business rates.

“The crisis we have is, every single piece of business taxation seems to be going up, and I don’t think that’s a great plan for growth,” Mr Danker said.

He added that there was also “serious pressure on wages” thanks to the labour market running “hot as hell”.

But he warned that price rises would follow without gains in productivity, saying some high street chains had already started looking at raising prices.

Mr Rees-mogg said: “We must always be looking to ensure that the money spent by the state is spent efficiently, and the tax burden is reasonable. And we are at the upper reaches of the reasonableness of the tax burden.”