Former prime minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday began a new role as a newspaper columnist with some advice for the government ahead of the UK budget next month, cautioning Chancellor Rachel Reeves against resorting to tax rises to bolster the nation’s finances.
Writing in The Sunday Times’, the 45-year-old former chancellor in the Conservative Party-led government draws upon his own experiences in the Treasury at No. 11 Downing Street in London to acknowledge the tough choices faced by a finance minister.
However, the Opposition MP believes the answer for the Labour government lies in spending cuts rather than tax hikes as the latter would have a depressionary effect on economic growth.
Raising taxes would be a disaster for the UK and particularly if increases are concentrated on a narrow base as Reeves tries to remain technically compliant with manifesto commitments. Such tax rises would be particularly distortionary and damaging to growth, writes Sunak.
The choice then is simple: ..
