Reported pre-election cut to income tax 'indefensible

A pre-election income tax cut reportedly being planned by chancellor Rishi Sunak would disproportionately benefit the wealthy, experts have said.

- ANDREW WOODCOCK

In an apparent bid to shake off his reputation as a high-tax, high spend chancellor who has raised the burden to its highest sustained level since the 1950s, Mr Sunak has ordered Treasury officials to draw up options for cutting levies including income tax, VAT and inheritance tax ahead of the election expected in 2024.

Treasury sources today insisted that work was at an "exploratory" stage and no preferred options had yet been selected, playing down reports in The Times that the chancellor is considering reducing the 20p basic rate of income tax by 2p and scrapping the 45p upper rate altogether.

One option being examined is understood to be a 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax in both 2023 and 2024 as a sweetener to 31 million voters liable for the tax in the run-up to the general election.

A leading economic think tank said it would be "indefensible” for Mr Sunak to target income tax for cuts so soon after hiking national insurance on employees and employers by a total of 2.5 per cent to raise £12bn for the NHS and social care.