Tax rise warning

PM warned over tax increase The Times reports that Boris Johnson has been warned against raising taxes, with senior Conservatives telling the Prime Minister that he risks "entrenching" the impact of the coronavirus crisis if he does so. With a leaked Treasury document suggesting the pandemic would cost the exchequer almost £300bn this year, potentially requiring income-tax rises, a public pay freeze and an end to the triple lock on state pensions, a cabinet minister has said. "We should be looking at policies that open up the economy - we will need fiscal stimulus. Taxes need to be lower rather than higher." The Times’ Oliver Wright, Eleni Courea and Greg Hurst consider Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s options for cutting the deficit, including scrapping the triple tax lock, a manifesto pledge vowing no increases in income tax, national insurance or VAT for five years. They also weigh options including changes to pension tax relief and corporation tax increases. The Guardian highlights that think-tanks including the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research have suggested tax increases may be the solution for tackling the budget deficit.