Patel urges Hunt to reverse planned tax increases in upcoming budget

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• Priti Patel has called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to reverse plans for a rise in corporation tax for big businesses in his upcoming spring budget.
• The planned rise in corporation tax was agreed by Boris Johnson’s cabinet and is set to rise from 19% to 25% in April.
• The agreement was brokered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and heralded by the US.
• Hunt is also under pressure from the right of his party to slash taxes before the next election.
• Patel’s call for Hunt to reverse the planned tax increases comes as the chancellor is under pressure from both sides of the political spectrum.

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Priti Patel Calls on Chancellor to Reverse Tax Increases

Priti Patel has called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to reverse plans for a rise in corporation tax for big businesses in his upcoming spring budget.

The planned rise in corporation tax was agreed by Boris Johnson’s cabinet, of which Patel was part, and is set to rise from 19% to 25% in April.

Patel urged the chancellor to use the budget to halt the planned tax increases and said it was “not too late” for him to “back business”. She also called on Hunt to pull out of an international agreement preventing corporation tax from falling below 15%.

International Agreement Brokered by OECD

The agreement was brokered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and heralded by the US, and was signed up to by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor.

Pressure from Right of Party to Slash Taxes

Hunt is also under pressure from the right of his party to slash taxes before the next election in an effort to revive the UK’s economy.

Former prime ministers Johnson and Liz Truss are among those advocating for cuts.

The tax burden on the country – the ratio of taxes as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) – reached their highest levels since the 1950s during Johnson’s time in Downing Street.

Liz Truss’s attempts to fire up the economy – a £45bn spree of unfunded tax cuts – sent the value of the pound tumbling and pushed up mortgage rates in the autumn.

Chancellor Under Pressure from Both Sides

Patel’s call for Hunt to reverse the planned tax increases comes as the chancellor is under pressure from both sides of the political spectrum.

With the budget due to be announced on 15 March, it remains to be seen whether Hunt will heed Patel’s advice and back business, or if he will follow the calls of his party to slash taxes.