The tax cut that would do most good

Tory leadership candidates are promising tax cuts. Matthew Lynn explains which one the winner should prioritise.

Rishi Sunak
Sunak: boxed in by his record
(Image credit: © Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

With the unfortunate exception of Rishi Sunak, who is boxed in by his record as chancellor, every candidate to take over from Boris Johnson as prime minister is promising spectacular cuts in tax. It is a little hard to work out what they have all been doing for the last couple of years while taxes were being raised to peacetime records, given how much they dislike them. But still, cynicism aside, it is refreshing to see that the Conservative Party still has some interest in lower taxes.

The trouble is, with an economy heading into recession and with huge demand for better public services, it does not sound very credible. We can’t cut national insurance, corporation tax, VAT, fuel duty or inheritance tax at the same time as spending record amounts of money.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.