Rachel Reeves says Labour has ‘no plans’ to increase capital gains tax

Rachel Reeves has said Labour has “no plans” to increase capital gains tax (CGT) in government, amid speculation fuelled by the party not ruling out a rise.

The Shadow Chancellor was asked about the party’s plans for wealth taxes by FT journalist Jim Pickard at a press conference following the release of the Conservative general election manifesto today.

He pointed to a Telegraph article from August last year in which she said Labour did not plan wealth taxes including CGT rises – and asked if the paper had misquoted her or if she had changed her mind.

But Reeves was quick to jump in, saying: “No, I haven’t changed my mind, because I’ve already said we have no plans to increase CGT.

“I do not want to increase taxes. I want taxes to be lower, I want to grow the economy so we have money for public services so that living standards improve and so we can keep the tax burden as low as possible.”

READ MORE: Labour dubs Conservative manifesto ‘Jeremy Corbyn-style’ and rules out 2p NI cut

It comes amid some speculation that a Labour government could eventually have to look at raising some taxes like on capital gains in order to raise government revenue, having ruled out increases in income tax, National Insurance and VAT and promised to stick to strict fiscal rules.

Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth yesterday also appeared to not rule out a rise in CGT despite saying “nothing in our plans that requires additional tax to be raised.”

The Conservative manifesto was unveiled by the Prime Minister at Silverstone today, which included £17 billion in tax cuts and a promise to build 1.6 million new homes.

But Reeves said: “What we saw this morning was a desperate wish list of unfunded policies from a weak Prime Minister.

“This is a recipe for five more years of Tory chaos, which will leave the British people paying the price.” 

Labour’s general election manifesto will be released on Thursday.

Read more of our 2024 general election coverage here.

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