RISHI Sunak was called out on the radio for saying “not a single credible economics institution” would agree with raising capital gains tax to manage the cost of living crisis.
Sunak was on LBC Radio after making his Spring Statement in Westminster earlier on Wednesday, becoming the first Chancellor to defend their statement on a live radio call in.
During the segment, Sunak was asked by a caller in Fife why “did he think that National Insurance was the only tax he could have raised when raising capital gains tax, for example, could have done the same?”.
In his response, Sunak said: “I don’t think there’s a single credible economics institution that would support that that would raise the money we need on a sustainable basis. I’m fairly confident if you check.”
'Not a single credible economics institution' would recommend the government raise capital gains tax or a windfall tax on energy, Chancellor Rishi Sunak insists.#RingRishi | @IainDale | https://t.co/Q8LkG3U10f pic.twitter.com/rTnfE0zGNB
— LBC (@LBC) March 23, 2022
Later in the segment, Sunak was called out by a representative of a group called Patriotic Millionaires, whose members have wealth over a certain level and believe they should be taxed more along with other richer members of society.
She pushed Sunak on why the Government had raised National Insurance rather than other means by referencing a study from Oxfam, Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, and Patriotic Millionaires that a tax on multi-millionaires could raise £43.71 billion a year.
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With time running out, Sunak responded that he was also from Southampton and “a big Saints fan”. He went on to point the caller to a Government scheme that allows “people like you, that are incredibly public-spirited to pay extra tax if you would like”.
He added: “I would urge you and your members in your group to have a look at that and very much look forward to getting that from you and commend your public-spiritedness.”
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