Rishi pulls in £24m a day in extra VAT

RISHI Sunak is facing new calls to cut taxes after it emerged the Treasury is raking in an extra £24million a day because of soaring prices.

The Chancellor was accused of ‘cashing in on people’s misery’ by refusing to bring in an emergency tax cut at a time when inflation is running at 9 per cent, leaving the nation in the grip of a cost of living crisis.

Last month Mr Sunak announced help to pay domestic fuel bills, but campaigners say this is not enough.

Analysis by the Lib Dems found that the Treasury is receiving £422million every day from VAT – £23.5million as a result of higher prices. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts it will bring in an extra £8.6billion this year. Conservative MPs voted down a Lib Dem proposal to cut VAT to 17.5 per cent, which would have saved the average family £600 a year.

The party’s Treasury spokeman, Christine Jardine, said: ‘An emergency cut to VAT would put this money straight back into people’s pockets at a time when those pockets don’t run deep.’