Labour must ‘come clean’ on 17 tax rises, say Tories

Labour must “come clean” on 17 taxes it is plotting to rise, the Tories have claimed.

Laura Trott, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, accused Labour of planning tax raids on homeowners, businesses and consumers.

At an emergency press conference, she said that Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to announce hikes to capital gains, stamp duty and council tax after the election.

Labour has repeatedly insisted it has no such plans but has only categorically ruled out increases to income tax, National Insurance and VAT.

Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said the Conservatives were “spending their time talking about things they have imagined”.

None of the 17 potential tax rises highlighted by the party are in the Labour manifesto.

At a press conference on Friday, Ms Trott said: “There are in total 18 taxes that we have specifically ruled out but Labour won’t…Yesterday we saw a manifesto from Labour that contained no tax cuts, only tax rises – they even warned of it in their manifesto.

“These are the 18 tax rises that we refuse to let them do quietly. These are the 18 tax rises which Labour needs to come clean about.”

On Friday, Labour ruled out implementing one of the 18 taxes identified earlier by the Tories – charging capital gains tax on the sale of family homes.

Ms Trott added: “It’s a tax-trap manifesto from a Labour Party that has tax rises coded into its DNA.

“Labour’s first, second and third answer to every problem is always the same: raise taxes.

“And as a result, the tax burden under Labour – on their own figures – will rise to be the highest our country has ever seen.”

It came as questions were raised over Labour’s manifesto, published on Thursday, which omitted details of the party’s plans in other key policy areas.