Reeves Refuses to Say She Wants Taxes Below 38% of GDP – Guido Fawkes

WATCH: Reeves Refuses to Say She Wants Taxes Below 38% of GDP

Rachel Reeves has refused to say she wants taxes to go down in a shift from her pre-election rhetoric. Voters must be tearing their hair out…

The Chancellor is up before the Lords Economic Affairs Committee this afternoon. Tory Lord Blackwell asked if – seeing as hers is the first government to get more than 35% of GDP in taxation since the war – Reeves has “a ceiling or view on what is the right level of taxation in the long run once you get through the current debt problem.” Good question…

Reeves could not. She said: “So the OBR forecast for this parliament uh have in the final year of the forecast period tax as a share of GDP at 38%. That’s not a target but that reflects the fiscal rules… those are the things that are my constraints and the anchor for fiscal policy are those two fiscal rules rather than a tax to GDP ratio.” She went on to say the ratio could be reduced by raising GDP. Pressed on whether she was targeting an increase or decrease in the tax-to-GDP ratio Reeves could not answer and said: “It’s a stability rule to balance day-to-day spending with tax receipts and investment rule to get debt down as a share of GDP.” She won’t even say is trying to get it down…

Guido remembers when Reeves railed against a “70-year high” in taxation at the election and at the rising forecast for tax take. Poacher, gamekeeper…