Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who will deliver her high-stakes Budget on Wednesday, has previously insisted those with the ‘broadest shoulders should pay their fair share of tax’
Voters would support tax rises if the burden falls on wealthiest, a poll shows as Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver her high-stakes Budget.
The survey shared with the Mirror by 38 Degrees campaign group, found 64% would back tax hikes if they are proportionate to wealth and the poorest shielded. The Chancellor has previously ruled out calls for a wealth tax – but has insisted those with the “broadest shoulders should pay their fair share of tax”.
The poll shows 62% voters want Ms Reeves to ease the cost of living for ordinary voters on Wednesday – something she has promised to do in recent days. It also found 52% want the Chancellor to bring in specific measures to help families while 25% want increased funding for public services like the NHS.
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Among measures already unveiled ahead of Wednesday’s Budget include a freeze on NHS prescriptions and the first freeze to rail fares in 30 years. Asked whether they would support tax rises at the Budget “proportionate to wealth, with those who have the most paying more, and those with the least being least affected”, 64% agreed. Just 14% told pollsters Survation they disagreed.
Meanwhile, some 63% said the Chancellor should consider breaking her fiscal rules to ease pressures on ordinary people – which could trigger market turmoil. Matthew McGregor, CEO of 38 Degrees said: “Tax. The. Rich. The message couldn’t be clearer. The public really want the Government to help people’s day to day lives improve, and they should fund this by asking those with the broadest shoulders to shoulder the burden the most.”
He added: “The ultra rich are trying to pull the wool over our eyes but the truth is that most people genuinely support tax rises to fund public services, provided tax is done fairly with the ultra wealthy footing most of the bill. The government would do right by bearing this in mind when they reveal their spending announcements on Wednesday.”
It comes after Ms Reeves promised working families will be “at the front of my mind” as she delivers her second Budget as Chancellor on November 26. While a manifesto-busting hike in income tax is longer on the cards, she is still expected to plug a blackhole in the public finances of around £20billion.
Last week Keir Starmer repeatedly refused to rule out extending the freeze on income tax thresholds despite Ms Reeves previously warning it would hurt workers. Introduced under the Tories, it is often branded a stealth tax as more and more people are dragged into paying a higher rate of tax as their incomes rise.
But in an interview with The Mirror last week Mr Starmer said he recognised the cost of living is the “single most important issue” to struggling families. He promised voters would feel better off by the end of this Parliament and vowed it would be “a Labour Budget with Labour values right through it”.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said Wednesday’s Budget “must be a living standards Budget”. He added: “Households up and down the country still suffering a painful Tory pay hangover – leaving this Labour government with lots of ground to make up.
“That’s why Wednesday is a crucial moment to show ministers are on the side of working people by making affordability a top priority. That means a clear plan to bring down energy bills for households. It means action to make work pay by showing ambition on the minimum wage. And it means tackling the child poverty emergency by scrapping the two-child benefit cap in full.”
On Sunday the Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, said the Budget must “show whose side Labour is on”. Ms Graham, who called for a wealth tax, said it must show “they are not going back to workers and communities to pay again”. She warned: “If they don’t do that then people will move away from Labour – there’s no doubt about that. That’s what I’m hearing.”