Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Is it time for a tax hike?

The 48 per cent have spoken – and they want higher taxes, according to the British Social Attitudes survey. In the wake of a general election in which Labour won support based on a manifesto of free spending, is it time for a rethink on tax? And should we wave goodbye to the era of austerity? Here’s what today’s newspapers make of the case for a tax hike:

We are ‘at a fiscal crossroads’, says the Daily Telegraph. During their dismal election campaign, the Tories ‘failed to make the case for living within our means’ and the ‘public appetite for prudence’ appears to be waning. Yet for all the cheer from the left of the “huge support for higher taxes and spending” – the survey on which these reports were based shows that less than half of people are in favour of more spending and tax.

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