âWeâll have to increase taxesâ, says Reeves
The chancellor has confirmed the government will raise some taxes in Octoberâs Budget after months of speculation about Labourâs stance on tax.
âI think we will have to increase taxes in the Budget,â Rachel Reeves told the News Agents podcast.
She was responding to a question about raising money following her claim on Monday that the previous government left a ÂŁ22bn âholeâ in the public finances.
Labour said repeatedly during the election campaign there would be no tax rises on âworking peopleâ, but the Conservatives had insisted Labour would increase them.
Speaking on the podcast, the chancellor was pushed on which taxes the government would raise.
She repeated the Labour manifesto commitment of no VAT, national insurance, or income tax increases, but did not rule out inheritance tax, capital gains tax, or pension reform.
âIâm not going to write a Budget or start to write a Budget on this podcast,â she said, adding that Labour wants to stick to âsensibleâ rules aimed at bringing the governmentâs longer-term debts down.
Ms Reevesâ admission comes after she scrapped a number of infrastructure projects, and announced the winter fuel allowance for pensions would be means-tested, among a series of measures aimed at addressing a shortfall in the public finances.
The decision comes as Labour and the Conservatives row over who is to blame for the lack of money in the public purse.
On Monday, Ms Reeves said the Conservativesâ âundisclosedâ spending had forced her to axe the winter fuel allowance and make billions in other cuts.
Shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt has denied this, saying the last government was âopenâ about public finances.
He insisted Labourâs decisions were a choice, criticising the governmentâs spending announcements since winning power.
The National Wealth Fund, GB Energy, and public sector pay rises added up to billions, he said.
âIf you make those choices, youâre going to have to put up taxes and she should be upfront that those are her decisions,â he told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said some of Labourâs claims of hidden spending by the previous government âappearâ to be correct.
This includes ÂŁ6.4bn on the asylum system, including the Rwanda deportation scheme, a number that IFS director Paul Johnson called âhugeâ.
However, he added âhalf of [the] spending âholeâ is public pay over which government made a choice and where pressures were knownâ.
Labour has already confirmed some tax rises and the chancellor has previously alluded to âdifficult decisionsâ needing to be made.
On Monday, Ms Reeves announced a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and VAT on private schools â both manifesto commitments.
In response, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney urged Labour to go further and make large companies âpay their fair shareâ of tax.