Rachel Reeves vows to target £174bn of tax reliefs and replace business rates

Rachel Reeves vows to target £174bn of tax reliefs and replace business rates
Rachel Reeves vows to target £174bn of tax reliefs and replace business rates

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves today vowed to target £174billion of tax reliefs - but tried to quell fears Labour will hike income tax.    

Ms Reeves is unveiling a sweeping review of reliefs in her speech to conference in Brighton that could hit pensions, private schools and even the cost of children's shoes.

However, she insisted that Labour has 'no plans' to increase income tax, despite Keir Starmer setting hares running by stating the move is not 'off the table'. 

Meanwhile, Ms Reeves said the party will replacing business rates. In a first step, it would hit tech corporations by raising the digital services tax from two per cent to 12 per cent and use the £2.1 billion raised to subsidise the rates bills of high-street traders.

Over time the rates would be phased out and replaced with a property levy.   

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured on a visit in Brighton with Keir Starmer) today vowed to target £174billion of tax reliefs - but tried to quell fears Labour will hike income tax

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured on a visit in Brighton with Keir Starmer) today vowed to target £174billion of tax reliefs - but tried to quell fears Labour will hike income tax

Corbyn backs Rayner in 'Tory scum' row 

Jeremy Corbyn has waded into the Angela Rayner 'Tory scum' row insisting she was just 'saying it like it needs to be said' as Keir Starmer faces open revolt from the hard-Left.

The former leader said Ms Rayner had 'nothing to apologise for' after she branded Boris Johnson and top ministers 'a bunch of scum, homophobic, racist, misogynistic' at Labour's conference.

The late-night tirade privately infuriated shadow cabinet colleagues who pointed out she was effectively insulting millions of voters, while Sir Keir Starmer issued a sharp rebuke by making clear he would not use such language. 

However, he stopped short of ordering his deputy to apologise, amid signs she is manoeuvring for a tilt at his job.

Mr Corbyn, who is still suspended from the parliamentary party but in Brighton for the annual gathering, stirred the pot last night. 

'Angela uses her own words. She is absolutely right to attack this government for the way it is treating people in our society,' he told LBC.

'I don't think she has anything to apologise for. She speaks from the heart.'  

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'If we were in government today, next year we would freeze business rates and increase the threshold for small business rates relief.

'That would give a temporary fix to this problem and we would fund that by increasing the digital services tax to raise that money, to cut rates for high street and smaller businesses.'

In future, the funding for business rates cuts would come from the global minimum corporation tax being championed by US president Joe Biden.

Ms Reeves told BBC Radio 4's Today: 'I have set out clear fiscal rules, that we will

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