Budget 2020: Chancellor must RAISE taxes in first Budget or break Government rules, think tank warns

THE CHANCELLOR must raise taxes in his first Budget or risk breaking Government rules, a think tank has warned.

Rishi Sunak replaced Sajid Javid on a brutal day in Westminster this month, and has inherited a target of balancing the books by 2022.

1

Now the Institute for Fiscal Studies have said this will not be possible unless he whacks up taxes.

Paul Johnson, Director at the IFS, said: “The Chancellor is hemmed in by a rising deficit and fiscal targets set out in the Conservative manifesto.

“We have already had 16 fiscal targets in a decade, and fiscal targets should not just be for Christmas.

“Mr Sunak should resist the temptation to announce another and instead recognise that more spending must require more tax.

“There are plenty of tax rises which would both raise revenue from better off individuals and improve the coherence of the tax system.”

The IFS warned if the Government did not abandon the fiscal target, Brits would face either tax rises or seeing massive spending cuts.

It comes as it was revealed Mr Sunak will be forced to delay some of his biggest decisions on tax, borrowing and spending due to the coronavirus.

The crisis has hit forecasts, with treasury officials now admitting things are “challenging”.

One said: “It’s no secret that we’re looking at a challenging economic context.

“We’ve seen a global slowdown over the past year and of course we’ll have to see the economic impact of the coronavirus.”

EURO TRASH TALK

PM bins Brussels’ trade demands in 4hrs after EU sets out conditions for UK

Exclusive

TAX ATTACK

Chancellor Rishi Sunak to claw back £1bn from well-off inheritance tax dodgers

ABUSE CALL

Dead paedophile MPs should be stripped of honours and gongs, report demands

BREXIT BLUEPRINT

EU demands access to UK fish as it attempts to impose rules for trade deal

CASH BOOST

PM signals major budget increase for cash-strapped Army with new defence review

WAGE WAR

What is the current National Minimum Wage in the UK and what will it increase to?

FUEL FURY

Over a dozen new Tory MPs in ‘Red Wall’ seats warn PM against hiking fuel duty

ABUSE IGNORED

MPs ‘turned blind eye’ to child abuse & covered up claims, £118m probe finds

BLUE FILM

Tory MP left red-faced after 2007 film of him exposing himself in pub emerges

LOST CAUSE

Corbyn’s leadership heir Rebecca Long-Bailey heading for ‘third-place finish’

The Chancellor is tipped to cut subsidies for a type of diesel used by off-road vehicles, and cooling on ending the ten-year freeze on fuel duty after a backlash from Tory MPs.

Asked about fuel duty this morning, policing minister Kit Malthouse: “Well you’ll find out in the Budget whether we do or we don’t…”

The Tory manifesto pledged to raise the threshold for national insurance contributions to £9,500, as well as a “triple tax lock” to ensure rates of income tax, national insurance and VAT do not rise.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.