The Conservatives promise law to ban tax rises for five years
David Cameron has promised that a Conservatives government will introduce a law guaranteeing no rise in income tax rates, VAT or national insurance before 2020.
He will say today that the legislation would be in place within a 100 days of being in office if the Tories win a majority on May 7. Labour immediately dismissed the idea as a “gimmick” and said that it expected VAT to rise under the Conservatives.
The key thing to remember about this give away eight days before the election is that it would only survive in a Conservative majority government – any other possible coalition party would be likely to dismiss such a tax freeze out of hand.
Skeptics also point to the fact that the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government raised VAT from 17.5% to 20% in 2011 despite the Conservatives saying they had no plans to do so before the 2010 election.
The prime minister will say: “When it comes to your tax bill, do you trust the people who taxed you to the hilt when they were in power and still haven’t come clean about the taxes they want to increase next time round?”