The revelations will undermine the Tory government’s claim that tax cuts are the way to turn around the economy,
Treasury officials warned Rishi Sunak in late 2022 that tax cuts would have a ‘low impact’ on boosting economic growth, and yet despite this advice, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the Tory government continue to prioritise tax cuts in a bid to boost the economy.
Treasury documents seen by Bloomberg reveal that incoming Prime Minister Sunak was told that ‘increasing high-skilled immigration and changing planning rules to build more homes would both have a “high impact” on the economy with a “low” fiscal cost.”
The revelations will undermine the Tory government’s claim that tax cuts are the way to turn around the economy, with Hunt planning tax cuts in the annual budget in March. Despite the advice of experts, Sunak and Hunt are placing tax cuts at the heart of the Tory election campaign.
Polling earlier this month found that voters would rather the government prioritise spending on public services, which have been decimated and left crumbling after 13 years of Tory austerity, rather than prioritising tax cuts, in another blow to Rishi Sunak.
The findings were made in a survey of 2,065 adults carried out by the political consultancy Global Counsel in December, which found that ‘almost two thirds of Britons think any available fiscal headroom should be used to improve schools and hospitals, compared to just over a quarter who say it should go toward cutting income tax.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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