Kwasi Kwarteng said "they’ll have to cut spending too"
The former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has said he believes there will be a wealth tax in the UK by the end of this Parliament to fund the government's increases in spending.
Speaking on GB News Kwasi Kwarteng said: “The July [OBR] figures, I don't think, will necessarily capture the latest settlements that this new Labour government is talking about. There were previous settlements by our government, which are now percolating through.
“And I think these new settlements, because some of them were announced in August, and this means they can't be reflected in the July numbers. And I think there'll be more of that to come.
“I think there'll be more and higher wage settlements, which will be paid for by higher taxes, and that's what the Treasury are clearly spinning and suggesting what's going to happen.
“And my question is, what taxes are they going to put up? I mean, we know about VAT on school fees, but that won't do anything, really, to fill that spending gap.
“They’ll have to cut spending too, but where the tax increases fall, I think will be a very big question.
“I didn't raise taxes but just thinking in terms of the Treasury's mind and where the government might come from, they will probably try and ‘tax the rich.’
“So I strongly suspect that before the end of the parliament, we'll have some form of mansion tax, a wealth tax.
“They're not going to lift the fiscal drag, the [income tax] thresholds, I think they're going to stay fixed. So by the end of the parliament, £50,000 will be a lot less than it is now.
“But all of those people who, in five years' time will be earning more than £50,000 will be caught into this fiscal drag, this net, where they'll be paying more tax. And that's how the Treasury can raise money.”
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