Rachel Reeves has said those with the \u201cbroadest shoulders\u201d should pay their \u201cfair share\u201d into the exchequer as she prepares to raise taxes in next month\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n
The chancellor is expected to deliver a package of tax increases and spending cuts on 26 November to meet her fiscal rules<\/a> in the face of deteriorating forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).<\/p>\n Speaking in Washington DC, where she was attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Reeves confirmed she was looking at wealthy taxpayers as she draws up her budget plans.<\/p>\n But she stressed that she was determined not to deter this group from making the UK their home. \u201cI want Britain to be a great place for talent, for entrepreneurs, for successful individuals to come, and that requires getting the balance right,\u201d Reeves said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I do think those with the broadest shoulders should pay their fair share of tax and I think you can see that from my actions last year at the budget.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cI want the UK to remain an attractive place, but we\u2019ve got to get the balance right and I do think that if Britain is your home you should pay your taxes here.\u201d<\/p>\n Pressed for details about how she could raise the additional revenue needed, the chancellor said: \u201cWe\u2019re not going to be introducing a wealth tax. We already have a number of taxes in the UK that do tax wealth and do tax wealthy people, and some of those we increased in the budget last year.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked to clarify who may be affected, she added: \u201cWealth\u2019s not about your annual salary.\u201d<\/p>\n Reeves stressed changes to the government\u2019s visa regime as evidence Labour remained keen to welcome talented individuals. \u201cThis week we\u2019ve doubled the visas available for global talent. We want Britain to be a place where people come and build their teams and build their businesses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The chancellor told the Guardian in an interview on Wednesday<\/a> that higher taxes on the wealthy would \u201cbe part of the story\u201d of her autumn budget.<\/p>\n Reeves also said on Thursday that the government would take more action in the budget on rising prices after the IMF\u2019s warning<\/a> that UK consumers are expected to suffer the highest inflation rate in the G7 this year and next.<\/p>\n \u201cInflation is still too high. Some of that is due to food prices, energy prices. We\u2019ve seen yesterday the [markets watchdog] review on vet prices<\/a>. We do want to bear down on some of the costs that people face,\u201d she said, adding that she was preparing to announce \u201ca range of policies to do that\u201d.<\/p>\n Reeves confirmed reports that she would like to use the budget to build up more headroom against her fiscal rules <\/a>\u2013 but stressed that this would be difficult, because it required higher taxes or deeper spending cuts.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re asking me would I like more headroom, of course I would, but that comes with tradeoffs.\u201d Pointing to jittery bond markets, she said: \u201cA greater buffer against that volatility would be helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n