The Tories have just released their Budget briefing. It includes this statement:
Our priority is to avoid Labour’s tax rises that affect the many not the few, like the increase in National Insurance which is a tax on everyone who earns over £20,000
This echoes Phillip Hammond’s remarks straight after the Budget. But it is important to stress that it does not mean that the Tories are accepting the 50p rate. What it does mean is that the Tories will prioritise—both in political and policy terms—stopping the increase in the tax on jobs. This strikes me as sensible politics and not a surrender.
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