Keir Starmer fails to rule out bringing in tax on pension contributions
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch asked the Prime Minister: 'We know the Chancellor is launching a review into pension contributions. It's as clear as day why this is – it is because the Government is considering taxing them.
READ MORE: Fresh headache for Rachel Reeves as inflation jumps to 18-month high
'Does the Prime Minister agree with me that a tax on pension contributions is a tax on working people?'
Starmer replied: 'We made absolutely clear manifesto commitments which she asked me about last week and we're keeping to. I'm not going to write the budget months out.'
(Image: Ian West/PA Wire)
It comes after the SNP raised questions about whether the scope and level of VAT could be changed, as Rachel Reeves (above) seeks to plug holes in her budget to meet her self-imposed fiscal rules.
The Chancellor has pledged to have taxes cover day-to-day public spending and to get debt falling as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).
READ MORE: Richard Murphy in explosive spat with BBC presenter over 'pro-Union bias'
Debt is rising as a percentage of GDP and official forecasts project it will top 270% by 2070 – and top economists have warned that the 'fiscal headroom' left by Reeves's plans is too narrow to meet future shocks.
She has also found herself with less room for manoeuvre after controversial cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment and disability benefits were scrapped.
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