Jeremy Corbyn’s tax bombshell would cost the average Sun reader an extra £2,400 a year
BRITS will have to pay a whopping extra £2,400 in tax a year to pay for the biggest Labour spending black hole of all time, new figures reveal.
New research by the Tories reveals Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell will be forced to slap an extra tax bill on the average worker the equivalent of an entire month’s wages.
The two Labour bosses have already pledged an eye-watering extra £651billion in day-to-day spending to deliver their hard Left agenda.
But only £277billion of it has been costed up with revenue-raising measures so far. That leaves a gaping black hole of £374billion, which ordinary toilers will be left with having to pick up the tab for under Labour’s own rules.
The tax bombshell is the biggest in British political history from any potential incoming Government.
It far outstrips Mr Corbyn’s extra £1,250 of tax per person per year in the 2017 Election, as well as beating ex-leader Ed Miliband’s potential new bill of £3,000 per family of two workers in 2015.
The new figures were put together by Chancellor Sajid Javid.
'RECKLESS SPENDING SPREE'
Releasing them, the Tory Treasury boss said last night: “Jeremy Corbyn is planning a reckless spending spree which we will all have to pay for.
“He will open up a huge black hole in the nation’s finances and hardworking people will be the ones that suffer.
“In order to pay for his policies, he will not only have to massively increase borrowing and debt, he will also need to hike up taxes by £2,400 per person — this is equivalent to an entire month’s pay for the average earner.”
The tax dossier is the second major attack on Labour’s fiscal credibility in the two-week General Election campaign so far, revealing economic competence will be a key part of Boris Johnson’s campaign.
It shows that the Conservatives have learned the painful lesson of their 2017 campaign, when Theresa May didn’t bother to tackle Mr Corbyn’s jumbo spending promises as she didn’t think voters would take them seriously.
But Mr Javid added last night: “The British people have made huge progress over the last decade in repairing the damage left to us by the last Labour Government.
“If Jeremy Corbyn gets into power he would throw all that hard work away. A vote for Corbyn’s Labour is a vote for higher taxes and the chaos of two more referendums.”
On Sunday, the Tories claimed that Labour’s announcements add up to an eye-watering spending frenzy of an extra £1.2trillion over the next five years.
This includes £546billion of capital expenditure for plans such as long-term building projects, which the party’s fiscal rules would allow them to borrow more money to pay for.
The remaining £651billion in day-to-day spending — going to ministries for projects such as bigger benefits cheques and more cops and nurses — would need to be funded from tax.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell ruled out borrowing to fund extra day-to-day cash in January, declaring that “only borrowing for long-term investment is allowed”.
That leaves only tax rises as the solution to raise the huge amount.
The average British worker already has to pay around £11,000 a year in tax to the state, which is more than 40 per cent of average earnings, or £30 a day.
'TAX BOMBSHELL'
Almost half of the bill — nearly £5,000 — is made up by indirect taxes such as VAT, fuel duty and council tax.
The rest — more than £6,000 — comes from income tax and National Insurance contributions.
According to Tory figures, Labour’s new tax bombshell would push the average worker’s total tax bill from direct and indirect levies to £13,400 a year, which is more than half their annual wage packet.
Labour’s Election manifesto in 2017 spelt out how the party would raise an extra £48.6billion a year, or £243billion over the full five-year Parliament.
The lion’s share comes from hiking income tax on earners on £80,000 a year or more, and ramping corporation tax on companies.
While they will lose some tax money by abolishing private schools, Labour have since then committed to introducing further revenue raisers worth £40.5billion over the five years.
Labour party policy documents and leaks have revealed the party’s high command are already looking at an array of extra taxes.
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They include a more expensive form of council tax and a homes tax on the profits made when people move home.
They are also looking at a huge new death tax on people who inherit the family home from their parents, fuel duty hikes and increased holiday taxes.
But all of those new taxes combined wouldn’t plug the new black hole, leaving Mr McDonnell having to hike VAT, income tax or corporation tax again.
-This article reports that the “average British worker” pays £11,000 in tax, including “over £6,000” in income tax and national insurance. A previous version of the article suggested that these figures applied to someone on the median wage (£24,908). This was incorrect as it did not reflect the actual amount of tax and national insurance contributions paid by someone on the median wage. This correction has been published following an upheld ruling by the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
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