Tax rises not ruled out by Government

THE Government will be guided by "fairness" on tax, a senior Cabinet minister said when asked if tax rises are coming in the autumn budget.

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Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander would not rule out tax rises in the budget as she toured the broadcast studios yesterday morning.

She said that Cabinet ministers did not "directly" talk about the idea of a wealth tax as advanced by unions and former Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock - during an away day at the Prime Minister’s Chequers country estate this week.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has refused to rule out tax rises at the budget since Labour MPs forced ministers to make a U-turn on welfare reforms, which the Government had hoped would save up to £5 billion a year.