Threat of biggest tax burden since World War II as Jeremy Hunt's November Budget 'could contain £25b in tax hikes'
29 October 2022, 11:08 | Updated: 29 October 2022, 11:18
Jeremy Hunt's Budget is set to include another £25 billion of tax hikes, meaning the country could face the highest tax burden since the Second World War.
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The Government is under pressure to announce a mix of tax rises and spending cuts to balance the books.
Mr Hunt is said to be aiming for an even split between the two - meaning he is set to announce £25 billion in tax hikes, according to Mail Online.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has previously warned a "difficult" package was needed in order to control inflation and restore market confidence in public finances.
One measure he is said to be considering is extending the windfall tax on big oil and gas companies.
It was reported on Thursday that Mr Sunak met the Chancellor and the pair agreed there was a "massive fiscal black hole" that needed filling, despite a recent improvement in the markets.
Mr Sunak is understood to be considering several proposals relating to the windfall tax including increasing the levy, extending the deadline and expanding its remit to include renewable energy generators.
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Mr Sunak has not had an easy first week in the job as Prime Minister.
As well a grappling with the challenges of a worsening economic outlook, he has also come under fire for the reappointment of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary.
Mr Braverman left the position under former Prime Minister Liz Truss after sending a draft ministerial statement on immigration from her personal email address to a parliamentary ally, the Conservative MP Sir John Hayes.
She meant to copy in Sir John's wife but instead allegedly sent the document to an aide of a third MP, John Percy, the BBC reported.
She was asked to step down over the security breach, and was reportedly "in denial" about her mistake.
But despite the error, Mr Sunak reappointed her just six days later.
He has faced questions on reasons behind the decision and fallen under mounting pressure to sack her.
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Mr Sunak has also been criticised for his decision not to attend the key Cop27 climate summit in Egypt next month, blaming "other pressing domestic commitments including preparations for the autumn Budget".
Labour branded it a "massive failure of climate leadership" and Rebecca Newsom, head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said it shows he does not take the crisis "seriously enough".
On Friday LBC's Nick Ferrari asked Environment Secretary Dr Thérèse Coffey why Mr Sunak was skipping Cop27, but Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had the time to go to Qatar for the World Cup despite a row over the country's human rights record.
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"So the Prime Minister won't go to Cop27 to do with the environment, but the Foreign Secretary will go to Qatar for the World Cup and football," said Nick.
"So clearly football is more important than the environment to this government."
Dr Coffey denied the claim.
