Rishi Sunak confirms tax cuts are coming in Autumn Statement: 'We will reward work'
Rishi Sunak gave his first optimistic pro-tax cut speech this morning, saying they can be considered after taking difficult decisions.
Rishi Sunak says the public can expect to finally reap the rewards of the tough decisions taken by the Government over the last year.
In a hopeful speech this morning, Mr Sunak said tax cuts can now finally be considered after steadying the ship.
However Mr Sunak warned cuts, if any, will happen in a “serious, responsible way”, stressing “we can’t do everything at once”.
The Prime Minister also joked: “If you read some of the papers you’d think there will be no taxes left after Wednesday!”
In a social media post following his speech, No. 10 said that the Government’s attention is now turning to cutting taxes after meeting the Prime Minister’s pledge of halving inflation.
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The post said: “We will reward work, by cutting taxes and reforming our benefits system so work always pays.
"We’ll also encourage more people into work and clamp down on welfare fraudsters.”
The focus on rewarding work heavily suggests Jeremy Hunt’s statement on Wednesday will focus on income tax or national insurance.
Rumours had swelled that the Government were considering a significant cut in inheritance tax, one of the most hated levies, however they have now reportedly backed away from this over concerns it looks too much like helping the rich.
The PM told journalists he wouldn’t be drawn on the specifics of potential tax cuts, though implied the fact he was making a speech on the topic should be interpreted as a signal they are coming.
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Mr Sunak claimed he had never argued against cutting taxes, just that “we can only cut taxes once we have controlled inflation and debt”.
The Prime Minister set out five new missions for the Government, in addition to those he’s been working towards since he entered No. 10:
- Reduce debt
- Cutting tax and rewarding hard work
- Building domestic sustainable energy
- Backing British business
- Delivering world class education
He also slammed Labour and argued there is “no way” they could cut taxes given their opposition to backing difficult decisions taken by the Government over the past year.
He said: “There is a serious moment coming. When we have an election there is going to be a very clear choice at that election. Do you want a government and a party that is committed to bringing down borrowing and debt and controlling public spending so that we can cut taxes?
“Or do you want a government and a party that is committed to borrowing £28 billion more? Because there is no way that if you are going to borrow £28billion more that you are going to be able to cut people’s taxes. It is as simple as that.”
He added Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are offering “simple fairytale answers” and said they have “no experience whatsoever in running a business”, unlike the PM and the Chancellor.
