People will not face higher taxes on their payrolls after the budget, a cabinet minister has said, while refusing to be briefed on what measures could be taken in the £40bn revenue booster.

Education Minister Bridget Phillipson has repeatedly said she cannot speculate about how Chancellor Rachel Reeves plans to fill the black hole in the country’s finances, which is understood to be more than twice as large as previously thought.

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In its manifesto, Labor said it would not increase national insurance, income tax or VAT on “working people”; but it is unclear who exactly this means.

Ms Phillipson told Sky News she was someone whose “main income was derived from going to work every day”.

But he declined to say whether that meant someone who did it and also had savings. Sunday Morning talks with Trevor Phillips: “Once again you ask me to speculate on matters concerning the Chancellor.”

“We stated in our manifesto that we will not increase VAT, insurance or income tax on employees. We will stick to this. They will not face higher taxes on their payrolls after the budget.” “

Later, government sources had to explain after the education minister that this promise was valid until the next election. It turned out that he mixed up his words on the subject.

There was further confusion over his comments when the small business owner, whose average net profit is around £13,000, refused to say whether he was considered an “employed person” by the government, he told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.

He admitted it was “frustrating” that he couldn’t talk about the budget but said “that’s not my job, that’s the chancellor’s job.”

Capital gains tax, fuel duty and inheritance tax are thought to be some of the tools available to Ms Reeves as ministers remain tight-lipped about next week’s financial event.

Ministers in recent weeks have said they are committed not to increasing national insurance, which applies only to the worker element, fueling speculation that the employer part of this tax could also increase.

It turned out that the government We aim to close the 40 billion pound deficit That’s more than double the £22bn black hole they previously warned about and used to justify cuts to winter fuel payments.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told Sky News that if that were the case, Wednesday’s fiscal would be “absolutely one of the biggest tax rise budgets in history”.

The Conservatives accused Labor of misleading the public with its economic plans during the election campaign.

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Gareth Davies said: “Labour is not keeping their word. They are trying to hoodwink the public but it won’t work.”

He accused Labor of failing to deliver on its manifesto promises by not only raising taxes but also “gaming the numbers to screw up borrowing” despite promising not to change its fiscal rules.

Read more:
‘Working people’ and Labor’s messaging confusion
Sir Keir Starmer says wealthy people are ‘people who don’t work’

Mrs. Reeves arrived after confirming He said he would change the definition of debt Allowing him to borrow more money to invest.

Speaking to Sky News earlier this week he said: self-imposed fiscal rule The level to which borrowing should fall by the fifth year of the economic forecast will be redefined from the current measure of public sector net debt.

Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned that the move could lead to people’s grandchildren shouldering the burden of the national debt for years to come and that Ms Reeves must “show how higher borrowing in the short term will be constrained in the future”. for example, through higher taxes.

He advised Ms Reeves to be “open and honest” about what higher borrowing would do because “the value of the spending will determine whether people are willing to accept higher taxes to see the benefits”.