Tax hikes for all: Every Brit must be braced to pay more, Hunt warns ahead of new budget
13 November 2022, 13:45
All Brits will need to stump up more cash for the taxman, Jeremy Hunt has admitted as he gears up to unveil his plan to plug a black hole in the nation's finances.
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The Chancellor is looking to restore some fiscal credibility after Liz Truss's disastrous mini-budget spooked the markets and required an extraordinary Bank of England intervention.
Mr Hunt, speaking days after the Bank said Britain could be facing its longest recession yet, is preparing to hike taxes on people who already face inflation – but said there will be a silver lining.
"We're all going to be paying a bit more tax, I'm afraid ... but it's not just going to be bad news," he said on Sunday.
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"I think what people recognise is that if you want to give people confidence about the future, you have to be honest about the present. And you have to have a plan.
"This will be a plan to help bring down inflation, help control high energy prices and also get our way back to growing healthily, which is what we need so much."
But he did tell Sky News "there's only so much you can ask from people on the very lowest incomes".
Mr Hunt is due to announce his plans to MPs in the House of Commons on Thursday.
He will also use that Autumn Statement to outline his modified plan for help with energy bills.
Ms Truss had capped energy price per unit and said that would leave the average family paying about £2,500 a year for two years.
Mr Hunt, however, has said previously that support would need to be more targeted from next year, aimed at those who need it instead of a blanket policy.
He told the BBC: "Will it be uncapped, unlimited? We have to recognise that one of the reasons for the instability that followed the mini-budget was that people were worried that we were exposing British public finances to the volatility of the international gas market."
Mr Hunt said it is important he demonstrates how prices will come down in the long run, instead of just offering short term support.
He is looking to plug a roughly £50bn black hole.
Mr Hunt has also denied he would try to sneak in stealth taxes after reports suggested they were under consideration this week.
