The price of a packet of cigarettes could hit £16 as Jeremy Hunt targets smokers and vapers in the budget.
To discourage kids from being drawn to vaping devices, the Chancellor plans to introduce a new tax that will generate income for the Treasury.
Tobacco levies will be increased in the budget package the following week, though, so there is still reason for individuals to choose vapes.
Mr Hunt raised the typical pack’s price by £1.55 last spring; it currently stands at £14.39.
As government officials attempt to lower expectations, Mr Hunt is coming under pressure from the Conservatives to increase tax cuts.
MPs are demanding he goes further than the 1p off national insurance that has been signalled, warning that is the only way of shifting grim polls showing Labour on track for a big election win.
According to Treasury insiders, the Chancellor will only have a little leeway in next week’s budget—roughly £13 billion, based on projections.
He has been forced to scale back planned cuts and is now looking at taking just 1p off National Insurance, rather than income tax, and extending the fuel duty freeze.
The combined cost of the two measures would be about £5.5 billion annually, and Mr Hunt is rumoured to wish to leave between £6 and £7 billion as a safety net.
The budget will be completed on Friday once he receives the last set of headroom estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
The Chancellor had previously considered a 2p cut in income tax and a reduction to stamp duty and inheritance tax. The Treasury said any claims about the contents of the package were ‘speculation’.
Yesterday, the reputable IFS increased the pressure on the Chancellor by pointing out that by the end of the decade, stealth taxes will increase the tax burden by over £100 billion.
According to the forecast, taxes in 2023–2024 will total around £66 billion more than they would have if they had stayed at the same percentage of national income as in 2018–19.
By 2028–29, it is forecast to be the equivalent of £104 billion in today’s terms. Any new tax cuts would only ‘partially offset this record-breaking increase’ in tax revenue, according to the IFS.
Conservative grandee Sir John Redwood, who headed Margaret Thatcher’s policy unit, said that ‘there is plenty of scope for prudent tax cuts’.
Mr Hunt needs to send all illegals back and cut NHS waiting lists because if he doesn’t, he’s toast.
England has had it, and we need leaders who can see the simple facts.
Can they not see that the more people they let in, the bigger the debt becomes? These people don’t contribute because if they did, we would not be in the mess that we are in now. Lending money is not smart; it’s bordering on Bernie Madoff as a business plan.
We also have some of the highest levels of air pollution, and if you think it comes from breathing in secondhand smoke, you are mistaken. Since the 18th century and earlier, England has experienced severe pollution. This hasn’t come suddenly; rather, our government wants you to believe differently.
What it boils down to is the fact that we are the government’s cash cow.
What does our government think they’re going to achieve? All they’re doing is raising taxes, and they’re driving the economy into the ground. They’ve put us into a recession with their enormous greed, and now they want to push taxes up even further. I’m not sure who I’ll be voting for, but it definitely won’t be Conservative.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 