Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool earlier today, the Chancellor has vowed to dismantle “a planning system that hands power to the blockers”.
Rachel Reeves made a pledge to “get Britain building again” in a wide-ranging speech ahead of the party’s first Budget in 14 years on October 30.
The Labour party has pledged to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years. One million homes were built in England and Wales in the previous five years.
Reeves also reinforced the party’s promise that income tax, VAT and national insurance would not be increased, whilst also not increasing corporate tax for the next five years.
She also stated that there would be “no return to austerity” in her Budget next month, with the focus instead being on driving economic growth.
However, the Chancellor highlighted the £22bn black hole in public finances Labour say has been caused by the Conservative government, which will lead to “difficult” tax and spending decisions.
This is likely to involve rises to inheritance tax, capital gains and pension-related levies, which will be used to raise at least £15bn to £20bn in next month’s budget.
Quilter tax and financial planning expert Rachael Griffin says: “If Labour maintains the status quo for inheritance tax and its associated thresholds or even opts to make it more punitive, then it must balance this with modernising gifting laws.
“There are hundreds of inheritance tax reliefs, and the system is ripe for simplification but that should not necessarily mean that more people have to pay inheritance tax. A fairer more equitable system could be something that Labour feel they can get behind.”
AJ Bell director of public policy Tom Selby adds: “While the chancellor’s tone may have been more positive today, she left the conference in no doubt that painful decisions are coming in the Budget on 30 October – although the country remains in the dark on where exactly the axe will fall.
“Like nature, politics abhors a vacuum, and the lack of clarity has led to inevitable speculation about possible revenue-raising reforms to pension tax relief and tax-free cash, as well as capital gains tax.”
