UK's Prime Minister rules out VAT rise
- Mar 24, 2015 | Richard Asquith
The UK's Prime Minister, David Cameron, today ruled out the prospect of a UK VAT rise immediately after the upcoming national election if his party wins. The confirmation came at the weekly Prime Minister's questions.
The opposition Labour party had been putting the Conservative party leader under pressure to confirm that he would not need to increase UK Value Added Tax. At last week's budget, it was confirmed that there is a £30 billion funding deficit which the Conservatives claim they will close through a mix of welfare spending reductions and anti tax avoidance measures.
The current Conservative / Liberal Democratic coalition government raised UK VAT in 2011 from 17.5% to 20% shortly after coming to power. This was despite a pre-2010 election promise not to do so. Historically, all UK VAT rises have taken place under Conservative governments.
