Labour and Plaid reject Tory calls for tax cuts

THE Conservatives have called for tax cuts to boost the Welsh economy - but Labour ministers warned the "unfunded" plans would blow a £669m hole in the budget.

- CHRIS HAINES ICNN Senedd reporter

Samuel Kurtz, the Conservative shadow economy secretary, urged a 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax and the scrapping of business rates for small firms.

“Families here are taking home smaller pay packets than their counterparts in England or Scotland. Businesses are struggling under the heaviest business rates in Britain,” he told the Senedd.

“Young people see fewer opportunities to build a career and too often feel forced to leave the communities where they grew up.”