Senior Conservatives are again loudly calling for
tax cuts in the upcoming budget on 15 March. Three in five Conservative party members want the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to prioritize tax cuts. Right leaning newspapers are pushing this agenda as well.Many Conservative backbenchers argue that slashing corporation tax would boost growth. There’s little evidence for this . We’ve had low corporate taxes for the last decade. At the same time our economy has stalled – pay has stagnated and the cost of living has increased.
A corporate tax cut would mainly result in soaring corporate bank balances – this at a time when many companies are reporting record earnings already.
As the 15 March budget approaches, we need to resist calls for tax cuts that benefit big corporations and push for higher taxes on the super rich instead.
Our NHS needs more resources
Not only are these calls for tax cuts reckless – we all remember what happened when Liz Truss tried it last time – they also ignore the state our NHS and public services are in.
Our teachers, doctors and ambulance staff are going on strike. Nurses are using foodbanks. Our NHS is in the middle of one of its worst crises ever.
These services are floundering. They urgently need more resources, not less. The government needs to provide more funding – and that should come from those with the deepest pockets.
That’s why we’ve been pushing a range of wealth taxes that could raise up to £37 billion a year . This money could be the lifeline our struggling NHS and public services need.