She said Labour would raise some of the money by ending the VAT exemption for private schools and by extending the windfall tax on energy firms.
The party has also said it will raise £5bn a year by tackling tax avoidance and evasion, and £2.6bn by closing “loopholes” in the government’s plans to abolish non-dom exemptions. Non-doms are UK residents whose permanent home for tax purposes is abroad, meaning they do not have to pay UK tax on money they earn overseas.
“But in the end we have to grow the economy, we have to turn around this dire economic performance,” Ms Reeves added.
While the shadow chancellor promised a rapid injection of funds to boost the number of NHS appointments and the recruitment of teachers, other unprotected areas of public spending such as local council services and justice could face cuts if Labour sticks to its rule that it will not borrow to fund day-to-day spending .
Ms Reeves ruled out setting a timetable for when a Labour government would increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income, saying there would be a review of defence costs which had “got out of control under this government”.
Rishi Sunak has pledged that the defence budget will rise to the 2.5% figure by 2030.
A spending review would take place if Labour won the election, the shadow chancellor said, and a “fiscal lock” would be introduced, meaning any significant and permanent tax and spending changes would require a full accompanying forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR normally needs 10 weeks’ notice to produce a forecast, and scrutiny of opposition party plans is not allowed.
This means there would need to be a delay between the result of the general election and any spending actions, in order for the OBR to comprehensively incorporate and evaluate those policies if Labour was to follow through on its commitment for a full process.
The SNP accused Labour of trying to “fool” voters about its spending plans.
Drew Hendry, the party’s economy spokesperson, said Labour had a “devastating plan to slash funding for public services by billions of pounds”.
He added that there was a “conspiracy of silence between the Tories and Labour Party on austerity cuts”.
Source link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69063581