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Share * COVID-19 * News * Politics * Football * Celebs * TV * Money Rishi Sunak boasts he's a 'low-tax Tory' - but refuses to rule out huge council tax hike The Tory Chancellor made a private boast to activists amid claims he could cut tax before the next election - but in the short term, he refused to rule out even more tax rises on Brits Rishi Sunak during a TV interview at the Tory conference this morning Rishi Sunak during a TV interview at the Tory conference this morning ( Image: Getty Images) By Dan BloomOnline Political Editor * 09:16, 4 Oct 2021 * Updated11:50, 4 Oct 2021 * * * * * | * * * comments Rishi Sunak today refused to rule out further tax hikes - including a huge council tax rise - despite privately boasting he’s a “low-tax Conservative”. The Chancellor waded into the Tory party’s war over tax after right-winger Jacob Rees-Moggsaid the UK is now taxed as highly as a country can afford. In a speech to activists last night, Mr Sunak said to huge cheers: “For the record, I’m also a low-tax Conservative.” And the Daily Express suggested Mr Sunak could unveil a tax cut before the next election to woo voters, after his National Insurance hike brought the tax burden to its highest in decades. But in the short term, the Chancellor refused to rule out even more tax rises after the hike in NICs from 12% to 13.25%. That includes widespread hikes to council tax, which has risen by above inflation for years, to pay for social care after just £5.4bn of a £36bn NICs hike was earmarked to fund it. Tories extend flagship back-to-work scheme after failing to get close to 250,000 target Boris Johnson slammed for saying ʼnever mindʼ about outcomes for cancer patients Asked about a warning from the Local Government Association that a rise will be needed, Mr Sunak said it would be wrong to "pre-empt" the local government finance settlement later in the year. He told Sky News: "What people should know is we want to put more money into social care, thatʼs why we took the decision we did." Mr Sunak also declined to deny he is eyeing a tax cut in a couple of years’ time, before the next election. He told BBC Radio 4ʼs Today programme: "Iʼm not going to sit here and speculate about future budgets. "I would like to think that weʼve been responsible with the public finances and thatʼs something I take very seriously." It comes after Jacob Rees-Mogg warned Boris Johnson not to hike taxes, claiming the Treasury can squeeze no more from the economy and UK taxation had hit "the limit". He told BBC Radio 4ʼs Today programme: "Iʼm not going to sit here and speculate about future budgets" ( Image: Getty Images) The PM faces a Tory backlash after he could not rule out another tax rise, despite his manifesto-busting hike in National Insurance and breaking the pensions triple lock to plug NHS gaps and pay for social care. When pressed by the BBCʼs Andrew Marr on Sunday, Mr Johnson said he would not put up taxes "if he could possibly avoid it". Speaking at a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Commons leader Mr Rees-Mogg fumed that the UK was facing "highest tax level since the war" and "we are at the reaches of the reasonableness of the tax burden". He said: "Even Harold Wilson with 98% tax rates did not manage to get the tax take much about 38% of GDP, so there is an automatic limit of taxpayers own devising." Mr Sunak insisted the Government is dealing with taxation in a "fair way". He told LBC Radio: "I think it is entirely Conservative to manage the nationʼs public finances responsibly and make sure things add up. Remember, weʼve suffered the biggest economic shock in 300 years. Read more Tory conference 2021 Welfare slasher sings ʼTime of My Lifeʼ Boris apes Thatcher to cut benefits £4k-a-table donor dinner with ministers Thousands march in protest "Now obviously thatʼs had an impact and, given that weʼve got commitments that we want want to make - whether itʼs on the NHS, whether itʼs more police officers, whether itʼs levelling up around the country - we want to make sure we can deliver on those, which is why weʼve taken these decisions, but weʼve been upfront with people about it and why weʼre doing it, doing it in what I believe to be a fair way." Asked about possible future tax rises or reductions, he said: "I never can comment about future tax policy, but, as I said, weʼve taken the decisions we have in order to do some very specific things that I think people would want us to do, to make sure the NHS can recover from the backlog, to reform social care, and I think people will acknowledge... look, we have experienced this once in a hopefully 300-year economic shock and thatʼs going to have an impact." Read More 6 misleading claims as Boris Johnsonʼs Tory conference Andrew Marr interview fact-checked Read More Boris Johnson refuses to rule out even more tax rises on skint Brits Most Read 1. 2. 3. Don't Miss 1. 2. 3. 4. Follow Mirror FacebookTwitter Comment MORE ON The TreasuryNHSConservative PartyTaxCouncil taxThe economyPolitics Get UK politics insight with our free daily email briefing straight to your inbox ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign up Invalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later. 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