Hunt urged to let workers keep more of their cash
TAXPAYERS must be allowed to ‘keep more of what they earn’, senior Tories warned Jeremy Hunt last night.
Former home secretary Priti Patel led the calls for tax cuts in the Commons, as the Chancellor promised an ‘Autumn Statement for growth’.
Ms Patel said the current tax system needs to be ‘fairer’ and ‘simplified’ to support the principle of individual economic freedom.
It comes amid warnings that Britain will face two decades of stagnant growth and soaring taxes if ministers fail to make radical reforms.
Ms Patel said: ‘May I appeal to [Mr Hunt] to look at lowering the rates of personal as well as business taxation, particularly in the areas of business rates and corporation tax, and all aspects to do with enabling people to keep more of the money that they earn.’
Ex-trade secretary Liam Fox said the Government’s priority must be slashing taxes for small businesses, while former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi called on Mr Hunt to ‘scrap the hated factory tax’.
Mr Hunt told MPs: ‘As we start to win the battle against inflation, we can focus on the next stage which is growth. So next week we will see an Autumn Statement for growth.’ A group of economists, which was assembled by Liz Truss, is also warning that high inflation and frozen tax thresholds mean the tax burden is likely to rise to a peacetime high, with a sluggish 1 per cent annual growth on the cards.
The Growth Commission said the UK must pursue a blend of public spending restraint, supply-side reforms and carefully-targeted tax cuts to ensure long-term growth.
Co-chairman Douglas McWilliams said: ‘We can see 20 years of stagnation with a record tax burden. We need policies to be genuinely longterm in their ambition and aggressively target growth.’