Truss to Speed Up UK Tax Cuts in Leadership Bid, Telegraph Says

(Bloomberg) -- UK leadership front-runner Liz Truss plans to rush through tax cuts to tackle the country’s cost-of-living crisis, the Telegraph reported.

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She will immediately reverse the increase in national insurance brought in this year if she’s elected Prime Minister, the paper reported, citing a campaign source. The previous plan had been for the change to take effect in April. The hastier timeline would mean workers’ take-home pay would rise from November.

Truss has been promising tax cuts to spur economic growth throughout the leadership campaign, where she’s holding a 34-point lead among Conservative Party party members. They will cast their votes over the next few weeks.

Read more: Here’s Where UK’s Truss, Sunak Stand on Issues from Tax to China

Her rival for the UK premiership, Rishi Sunak, pledged to introduce further support for families over the weekend. He said it was wrong that the Truss has ruled out further direct help for households this winter, adding that tax cuts “are not going to help very significantly,” particularly as energy costs spiral.

As the two candidates spar over their plans for the economy, a poll for the Observer suggested the 34% of people want taxes and investment in public services to remain at current levels, while 26% would like to see taxes rise.

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