As well as the broad pledge not to raise taxes for working people, Labour’s manifesto specifically ruled out raising rates of income tax, along with National Insurance and Value Added Tax (VAT).
But ministers have not ruled out continuing to freeze income tax thresholds beyond 2028, a policy they inherited from the Conservatives, dragging more people into higher bands over time as wages rise with inflation.
And they have also not ruled out making employers pay National Insurance on their contributions to workers’ pension pots, which the Conservatives have branded a “tax on work” that will indirectly hit workers.
Labour peer Lord Blunkett, a cabinet minister in the Blair government, said the “logical outcome” of the move was that “employers will pay less”.
He also cautioned that he was unsure of the government’s definition of a working person, adding: “We’ve got to find a different phraseology”.
Other rumoured tax rises include to capital gains tax, which is paid on profits made by selling assets including shares and property other than a main home.
The government is also planning to increase the amount of money it raises in inheritance tax, which is paid after around 4% of deaths.
Multiple changes to the tax, which currently includes several exemptions and reliefs, are under consideration.
