As the parties make the finishing touches to their manifestos, speculation is brewing that some Labour shadow ministers believe a rise in capital gains tax could help fill the gaping hole in the public finances.
But Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown commented that “given that Keir Starmer has positioned Labour as a party for wealth creation, it seems highly unlikely that raising CGT will be the first port of call in an upcoming budget.
“The party has already indicated that it believes it has fully funded plans and will be focusing on closing tax loopholes to inject money into public services, without additional tax increases. Nevertheless, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are likely to come under more pressure to rule such a move out.”
Meanwhile, the Conservative party which has just issued a Family Home Tax Guarantee. This includes promises not to increase the number of council tax bands, cut council tax discounts, impose capital gains tax on sales of main homes or increase the level of stamp duty.
She argued: “There is a real opportunity here for political parties to make their case for retail investment. So far, voters are divided on whether Labour or the Conservatives would be better for their investments. Some 31% think a Conservative government would be better for their investments, while 27% think Labour would, and 23% don’t know. 11% say they’d be more likely to vote for a party that pledged to cut tax on investments. Unfortunately for them, with so many spending pledges on the table, this one may not make into the manifestos.”
All figures from a survey of 2,000 people by Opinium for Hargreaves Lansdown, April 2024.
