Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has made it clear that tax rises are on the horizon as he warned of a painful autumn budget.
Speaking outside Downing Street on Tuesday, he said: “I will be honest with you, there is a budget coming in October and it’s going to be painful.
“Just as when I responded to the riots, I’ll have to turn to the country and make big asks of you to accept short-term pain for long-term good. The difficult trade-off for the genuine solution.”
While he did not explicitly announce tax rises, many experts have argued that Labour will have to recoup more cash from British taxpayers to fill what they claim is a £22billion “black hole” in the public finances.
The budget will be announced on October 30.
Use our income tax calculator above to see how much you should be taking home based on your income before Labour’s expected tax hike.
The Conservative Party has reacted with fury at Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans to raise taxes.
Tory leader Rishi Sunak posted on social media: “Keir Starmer‘s speech today was the clearest indication of what Labour has been planning to do all along – raise your taxes.”
The Leader of the Opposition also hit out at Labour’s £22billion black hole claims, saying that Labour did know about the state of public finances prior to the general election.
Sir Keir has said: “I said change would not happen overnight. When there is a deep rot at the heart of a structure, you can’t just cover it up… you have to overhaul the entire thing, tackle it at root. Even if it’s hard work or takes more time.”
Sir Keir was asked by Sky News which taxes could be hiked. He vowed that income tax, VAT and national insurance will not go up.
He added: “We have to get away from this idea that the only levers that can be pulled are more taxes, or more spending.
“Our number one mission is to grow the economy.”
