Rachel Reeves planning to raise taxes and cut spending in October budget
https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/aug/20/rachel-reeves-planning-to-raise-taxes-and-cut-spending-in-october-budget?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Posted by ClassicFlavour
23 Comments
If people were confident that the government would spend tax money prudently and could be sure that everyone (individuals and businesses) would be subject to slightly painful rises, I would guess that the public would accept significant rises in the short/medium term to reduce debt and improve public services.
Unfortunately confidence is very low for either requirement so this will go down like a lead balloon.
>Sticking to plans for a 1% increase in public spending even though it would involve cuts for some Whitehall departments.
> Rejecting pressure to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
These will be really tough for some Labour backbenchers to swallow, especially for someone like Kim Johnson who has campaigned for ending the two-child benefit cap for eternity. Let’s see if the “usual suspects” will rebel again!
Why doesn’t the public trust politicians?
BBC – 28 May 2024 [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce990eg3rq2o](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce990eg3rq2o)
*Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised that there will be “no additional tax rises” beyond those she has set out if Labour wins the general election.*
*In her first major speech of the election campaign, Ms Reeves said that every Labour policy “will be fully funded and fully costed – no ifs, no ands, no buts”.*
*But the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), an independent think tank, has warned that whoever wins may have to raise taxes or cut spending.*
Guardian – 20 August 2024
*New chancellors traditionally seek to get bad news out of the way in the first budget after an election – a time when they can seek to blame their predecessors for any unpopular decisions they make.*
*The subsequent figures showing the UK economy grew by 0.6% between April and June led to speculation that there might be a knock-on effect on the public finances that might allow Reeves to limit the pain in her October budget. The OBR is expected to revise up its 0.8% growth forecast for the year as a whole in its assessment for the October budget.*
*Labour has sought to stress the poor state of the public finances, while the Conservatives have tried equally hard to disparage Reeves’ assessment of the economy, arguing that the new government is trying to find political cover for tax rises already planned for the budget.*
The article mentions inheritance tax and capital gains tax as the ones being considered for a rise, for those who can’t be bothered reading the article.
Cool, so we’re starting with the Triple Lock right…
Right…
These policies appear more politically motivated than economically pragmatic. The emphasis on closing a budget “black hole” might be more about appeasing the voter rather than addressing the underlying economic challenges. This is leading to underfunded infrastructure and social programs.
Labour in 2007 upped your retirement age. We’ve got one of the oldest pension ages on the planet.
And this time around they’re after the tax free pension pots as well as taxing you even more just for dying.
You know, that money that was already taxed, is taxed again, just to inherit.
We’ve already got one of the highest inheritance taxes, now they want more.
It’s little wonder boomers hoard their money
Tory lite, just like anyone with a brain realised pre-election
https://x.com/NewhamIndParty/status/1819471971970961503
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/26/rachel-reeves-says-labour-would-not-return-country-to-austerity?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Oooh feel the burn. THANK YOU MAAM, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?!
What a lovely winter this will be. 9% on energy bills, now this. Forget growth Mrs Reeves
I do love me some austerity!
Plenty of people said that Labour were effectively Tory-Lite and got downvoted to oblivion pre-election and yet, here we are.
Of course she does. Labour was always going to fuck over people rather than actually decrease government spending.
Don’t mind paying taxes if they’re well spent. The Tories utterly pissed my money up the wall over the last 4 years.
Reform UK warned of Labours plan to raise taxes but people voted them in anyway 👏
” Changing the way debt is measured to exclude the Bank of England.”
And so the number fudging begins
People will quickly forget the Tories were also raising taxes in their plan. There’s a big fucking hole in the budget, and raising capital gains taxes would help.
Next up surely is council tax reform – will require investment but will surely raise its worth many times over in the coming years. I pay nearly double the council tax that some local £4m+ mansions do because their properties were evaluated in 1991 and mine was done in 2020.
Maybe stop sending money to Ukraine and Israel, oh and remove heating allowances for MPs
If true – and this is coming from the Guardian not The Times, or the Torygraph – it’ll be austerity 2: electric boogaloo like so many feared.
That’ll be the country down the drain and the Tories (or heaven forbid) Reform back into power in 5 years time, if they can find someone charismatic to lead the party.
Is it a disaster to tax 0.5% on net assets of 1+ million?
Capital gains to match income tax. IHT – lots of reliefs to go.
Please don’t mess with pensions.
She will spend so much time blaming the last government, she will sit down and think to herself “Shit, I forgot to say what I am going to do”
And don’t you worry we’ll have plenty more taxes to come especially on the working class. Confidence is already plummeting for Labour their full Budget announcement will be completely in the tank. This country has always been a socially centre-right wing oriented society. Push that or Labour will absolutely crash and burn under the seeming outrage and common sense arguments of Reform. Seen as though we’ve all been labelled as “Far-right thugs” for disagreeing with Labour then I guess they aren’t pushing any popular policies forward any time soon.
With the blackhole that Labour have helped expand by granting Train drivers an enormous pay rise that puts them on the border of the top 5% of incomes in the country. I’m not surprised they are having to raise taxes.
From the party who told you austerity was a choice…