Labour party makes pre-election tax promises

24 Mar 2015

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Ed Balls is expected to announce a Labour party pledge to freeze VAT should they win the general election.

Mr Balls will unveil the new manifesto promise, saying: ‘Today I can announce a clear pledge to the British people. The next Labour government will not raise VAT’.

In response to previous Labour pledges to increase taxes across the board, a Conservative party spokesperson said: ‘Labour has already announced a raft of tax rises, but all but one of these would fund their spending pledged. It is time that they came clean with the British public about which taxes they will raise.’

Mr Balls is expected to use his speech to reply, insisting that ‘Labour can make this manifesto commitment for the next Parliament because, unlike the Tories, all of our promises are full funded and paid for.’

In order to raise funds for their pledges, Labour have announced plans to raise the top level of income tax to 50% and close the loopholes that have contributed to the tax gap.