Chancellor rejects calls to raise Capital Gains Tax in Budget

Chancellor John Healey has dismissed calls from some Labour MPs to increase Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

Cabinet ministers Wes Streeting and Louise Haigh both previously voiced support for raising CGT before Andy Burnham became prime minister in July.

Ahead of next week's Budget, as first reported by the Times, external, Healey is minded not to increase CGT - which is imposed on the profit people make when they sell an asset that has increased in value, such as shares in a company or properties which are not primary residences.

The move followed warnings that it could end up costing the government money if wealthy people leave the country or defer selling off assets.

If you pay income tax at the basic rate then CGT is charged at 18%. For higher and additional rate income tax payers, the CGT rate is 24%.

Last year, HMRC estimated that lifting the higher rate of CGT by 10% would reduce the Treasury's receipts by £3.6bn in 2028-9.

The chancellor gave an indication of his approach last month in a speech when he spoke about the importance of businesses and self-employed people making profits.

"I want to see this country as a country of wealth creation. I want our government decisions and policies to raise the levels of confidence, and investment, and profit in British business," Healey said.

Burnham has faced warnings against lifting CGT. His former adviser and Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Lord Jim O'Neill suggested it would send "the wrong message to business".

But influential Labour figures had pushed for equalising CGT and income tax, with the former generally attracting a lower tax rate.

Louise Haigh, a key ally of the prime minister, had suggested capital gains should go up to be closer to income tax, before she became Burnham's first secretary of state.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called for a "wealth tax that works" in May, shortly after resigning as a minister in former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's government.

Healey already ruled out levelling the two tax rates, according to the Financial Times, external.

It comes after senior banking executives told the BBC they expect Healey to raise taxes on the sector. UK banks have been reporting bumper profits, leading to calls from unions for higher taxes.

In a pre-Budget speech on Tuesday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to urge the government to drop its spending plans and reduce its borrowing.

She will tell the prime minister and the chancellor to "live within our means" and signpost her party's plan to save £70bn in cuts, including to welfare and overseas development aid.