Labour branded ‘shameful’ as it rules out wealth tax if elected
[ad_1]
The SNP questioned the entire point of the Labour party.
Ms Reeves, who in 2021 said people who got their income through wealth should have to pay more tax, used an interview with the Sunday Telegraph to announce the shift.
She said she would not introduce a levy targeted at wealth or a ‘mansion tax’ aimed at property, nor increase capital gains tax or the top rate of income tax.
READ MORE: Scottish judges warn SNP reforms could see ‘political abuse’ of courts
Sir Keir Starmer previously pledged to “increase income tax for the top 5% of earners”, but appeared to backtrack in June when he said he was no longer keen on the idea.
The changes are intended to woo business and more affluent voters, and to head off potential Tory attacks about Labour irresponsibility on finance.
The Labour leader and his would-be Chancellor believe Labour must demonstrate economic competence if it is to convert its 20-point poll lead into a Commons majority.
Ms Reeves said: “We have no plans for a wealth tax.
“We don’t have any plans to increase taxes outside of what we’ve said.
“I don’t see the way to prosperity as being through taxation. I want to grow the economy.”
She said of any form of wealth tax: “We won’t be doing that. It’s a denial.”
A Labour source told the Telegraph this also applied to “any form of ‘mansion tax'”, which has also been discussed by Labour in recent years.
Asked if the party had ditched Sir Keir’s 2020 pledge to increase the top rate of income tax, Ms Reeves replied: “Yeah. The tax burden is at its highest in 60, maybe even 70 years.
“I don’t see a route towards having more money for public services that is through taxing our way there.
“It is going to be through growing our way there.
“And that’s why the policies that we’ve set out are all about how we can encourage businesses to invest in Britain.”
She also pledged to do “whatever it takes” to attract green investment and jobs to Britain from firms such as electric car makers and the factories supplying them with batteries.
The left-wing pressure group Momentum said on Twitter/X: “Four people in this country have more wealth than *20 million Britons*.
“Meanwhile, capital gains are taxed lower than income. This is a political choice to favour big business & the 1% over ordinary people. Shameful.”
The SNP said Labour was now a pro-Brexit, Tory-lite party.
MP Stewart Hoise said: “Keir Starmer’s tax U-turn underlines how indistinguishable they are from the Tories.
“In their desperate attempt to appeal to Tory voters, the Labour Party’s tax policy now comes straight from the Tory manifesto.
“This latest capitulation now means the Labour Party and the Tories agree on taxation, the two-child cap, the rape clause, the bedroom tax, Brexit, the undemocratic House of Lords, and Scotland’s right to decide its own future
“Voters across the UK will now rightly ask: what is the point of the Labour Party?
“At the next election, a vote for the SNP is a vote to deliver real change and real hope – and send a clear message to Keir Starmer that being a Tory-lite tribute act will not cut it.”
READ MORE: Labour and LibDems both claim they can beat Tories as Dorries quits
A Conservative party spokesman said: “Rachel Reeves is yet again taking the British people for fools if she thinks they will believe this latest U-turn.
“Labour’s reckless spending and £28 billion-a-year borrowing plan would crash the economy, fuel inflation, and inevitably result in higher taxes for the British people. As ever with Labour, hardworking people would be forced to foot the bill for their disastrous economic policies.
“We are getting on with delivering on the people’s priorities: halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists, and stop the boats.”
[ad_2]