‘Simply not credible’: IFS verdict on Labour’s manifesto

The IFS has delivered its verdict on Labour’s manifesto and it’s not good news for taxpayers. Jeremy Corbyn’s party has claimed that 95 per cent of people would not pay a penny more for its radical plans to change Britain. But IFS director Paul Johnson says that’s nonsense: if the party introduced its manifesto, everyone will have to stump up. In an interview with ITV, Johnson was asked: ‘Can you commit to spending this amount of money without raising tax, VAT, national insurance on 95 per cent of people?’. Here’s what he said in response:

‘The Labour manifesto suggests they want to raise £80bn of tax revenue and they suggest that all of that will come from companies and people earning over £80,000 a year. That is simply not credible. You cannot raise that kind of money in our tax system without affecting individuals…if you are looking at transforming society, which the Labour party is absolutely upfront about doing, then you need to pay for it and it can’t be somebody else that pays for it.