02 January 2024 , 08:57
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Voters can work out exactly how much Tory tax policies are costing them with a new 'Tory tax calculator' as Labour steps up its attack.
The new tool has been launched to highlight how working people are worse off after 14 years of Conservative rule - with 25 tax rises since 2019. Even with a national insurance cut coming into place at the weekend, Labour says the average family will be £1,200 worse off due to Government policies.
Labour plans to hammer under-pressure Rishi Sunak with the tool in the build-up to the general election. The party - using figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility - said that for every £10 the Tories are taking in tax after freezing thresholds, they are only giving £2 back. It comes as Rishi Sunak faces immense pressure to deal with massive rates.
Labour's Tory Tax Calculator tool, launched today, allows people to select their salary band and find out what they will be paying in taxes after the national insurance reduction.
Shadow Treasury minister James Murray said: "After 14 years of economic failure under the Conservatives, working people are worse off, with wages flatlining and taxes up. The tax burden is now set to be the highest on record, with 25 Tory tax rises since the last election alone.
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"Never before have working people been asked to pay so much and get so little back. It is time for change."
The Tories shot back, with Laura Trott, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: "This Conservative Government is cutting taxes for 27 million people and delivering the biggest business tax cut in modern British history.
"Keir Starmer's commitment to spend £28 billion every year, whilst supposedly cutting debt, will inevitably result in tax rises. That is the only way Labour's sums add up."
There has been recent speculation that Mr Sunak could make more attention-grabbing pledges in the spring budget in March, with income tax cuts and the abolition of inheritance tax reportedly being considered ahead of a general election.