Healey Guards Budget Amid Tax-Rise Speculation
Chancellor John Healey is said to be on a “war footing” to prevent leaks ahead of the autumn budget, as speculation swirls over possible tax rises, including on pension savings. Business figures have urged him to end the “kite-flying” and rule out a raid on pension tax relief. Mr Healey has confirmed that the freeze on fuel duty will continue.
Budgets are shaped as much by the weeks of speculation before them as by the statement itself, and the flurry of leak-management and lobbying reflects how much is riding on this one, with the public finances tight and growth soft after a 0.4 per cent quarter. Refusing to rule tax rises in or out keeps the Chancellor’s options open but unsettles savers, businesses and markets, and the pressure to reassure — on pensions in particular — will only grow. The confirmed fuel-duty freeze is a small, popular giveaway that hints at the political calculations to come. Within Labour, the argument between raising taxes and protecting a fragile recovery is unresolved. Watch which taxes, if any, are targeted when the budget comes.