The Chancellor and Rishi Sunak have repeatedly dangled the prospect of tax giveaways in the Budget (Image: Getty)
Jeremy Hunt has reminded Tory grassroots that the party will always “cut taxes when we can”.
The Chancellor also warned that Labour will never do the same because they want to squander taxpayers money on “ludicrous” pledges.
His rallying cry to party members came as he set out the dividing line between the Conservatives and Labour.
Mr Hunt, who compared himself to tax-cutting former chancellor Nigel Lawson over the weekend, said “the choice at the next election will be about taxes”.
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Writing on the influential Conservative Home website, the Chancellor said: “Election year is the time when the choice between the two parties crystalises into its sharpest form.
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“If I were forced now to predict where that will end up, I would submit this: Conservatives proposing a path to lower taxes, and Labour pretending they wouldn’t raise them.”
The Chancellor and Rishi Sunak have repeatedly dangled the prospect of tax giveaways in the Budget on March 6.
Mr Hunt is expecting forecasts from fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility in the coming days, at which point he is likely to sit down with the PM to enable them to plan tax cuts.
He is expected to have at least ￡10 billion “headroom” for cuts.
The Chancellor warned that Labour’s plan to spend an extra ￡28 billion every year in the next parliament would wreck public finances..
“￡28 billion is ￡4 billion more than the annual Home Office budget. Imagine the state adding a new UK wide police force each year in the next parliament (and then some).
“There is simply no way to do that without hiking taxes, or leaving debt interest to be the single biggest thing the state spends money on, and being forced to hike taxes. To pretend otherwise is dishonesty in the extreme.”
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “Jeremy Hunt’s words will read hollow to the millions of people who have been left worse off after 14 years of economic failure.”
It comes as the Prime Minister insisted Mr Hunt will still be Chancellor at the time of the general election expected later this year.
Mr Sunak said he [Hunt] was doing a “fantastic job” at managing the economy after mounting speculation ahead of the spring Budget about how long he will last in the post.
Asked on a visit to Buckinghamshire whether Mr Hunt would remain in his position at the time of the election, Mr Sunak told broadcasters: “Yes, and I’ve said that multiple times, it’s not new information.”
He added: “We’d like to do more when it is responsible to do so, but as we saw with the latest inflation data, inflation doesn’t fall in a straight line, it isn’t a given, there’s still work to do, and that’s why it’s important we stick to the plan so we can build a society where everyone’s hard work is rewarded.”
Reports last year suggested Mr Hunt would stay for the autumn statement and the Budget but that there was a question mark over his longer-term future in the role.
Mr Sunak has until January 2025 to hold an election but has said he is working towards a vote in the second half of 2024.
Income tax is the frontrunner to be cut in the Budget, although this is regarded as the most costly option.
A 2p cut in income tax would cost more than ￡13 billion because it benefits pensioners as well as those of working age.
Mr Hunt could also slash, or even abolish, inheritance tax. Scrapping it outright would cost ￡7 billion a year so cuts are more likely.
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The Tories consider it to be an aspirational measure, and it polls well with 2019 Tory voters.
In reality, inheritance tax is paid on only 3.73% of estates.
The chancellor is also understood to be considering raising the ￡50,000 threshold at which child benefit - which is worth more than ￡2,000 a year for two children - starts being withdrawn. The move would be seen as an offer to middle-income families.
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