The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Huntconceded this Monday that UK taxes are “too high”but ruled out lowering them in the short term despite internal pressures in the Conservative Party in that regard.
“We want to lower them“Hunt told the BBC on the second day of the Conservatives’ annual conference in Manchester, but stressed that “there are no shortcuts” to boosting growth, an essential condition before taking that step.
The minister also warned that a hasty cut could further trigger persistent inflation in the United Kingdom.
Before the disadvantage in surveys of the “Tories” one year before the next general elections, numerous voices in the party are putting pressure on the Government of Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to announce measures that benefit the pockets of companies and citizens.
One of them is the former prime minister Liz Trusswhich has emerged as one of Sunak’s main critics, despite the fact that his short-lived Executive caused a financial storm in 2022 with an aggressive tax cut.
The former Tory leader will participate in the Conservative Congress today and will insist on the need to lower corporation tax from the current 25% to 19% to “unleash the capacity of British companies.”
His proposals are supported by at least a group of 30 deputies who have signed a letter in which they assure that they will not vote in favor of the next budgets that Hunt presents if they incorporate tax increases.
The Minister of Economy, however, has assured that he will maintain the same strategy that he has defended since he took over the portfolio a year ago. “The way to win elections is to make promises that people can believe. We are being honest with the people, there are no shortcuts to tax cuts”, he told GB News.
“If I announced a big tax cut this year, that would be inflationary, because we would be putting more money in citizens’ pockets, which would increase demand and ultimately cause prices to rise as well. So this is not the best time,” added Hunt, who will give a speech to Conservative members in Manchester this afternoon.
Battle between factions
The perpetual fight between factions of the Conservative Party will foreseeably be carried out this year by the ultra-liberal wing of the party, led by Truss and her entourage, in favor of lowering taxes and reducing the weight of the State, and for the group leaning towards the political right that she sees in the Minister of the Interior, Suella Bravermana good candidate to profit from anti-immigration rhetoric.
Both sectors will try to gain weight in Manchester, with an eye on both the electoral program that Sunak must draw up in the coming months and the eventual profound renewal that would come if the party goes into opposition.
Despite the financial disaster that Truss caused during her brief time in Downing Street, her supporters maintain an influential voice: “They want to maintain the ideology and legacy of (Margaret) Thatcher,” Clift commented.
Braverman, who this week advocated lowering the rights offered to refugees by the UN Convention, “has big ambitions and clearly sees herself as a potential leader,” he added.
(With information from EFE)
Source-www.infobae.com