George Osborne today faced overwhelming public opposition to any cut in the 45p tax charged to top earners in this week’s Budget.
An exclusive YouGov poll of Londoners for the Evening Standard found that around two-thirds think the highest tax band charged to people earning over £150,000 a year should either stay the same or be hiked to 50p in the Pound.
But only 21 per cent agreed with senior Conservative MPs and Boris Johnson, who are lobbying for it to be slashed to 40p.
The pressure on Mr Osborne increased when the Mayor of London today repeated his call for the top band to be scrapped to create “an even more competitive tax rate ... for the millions who might be encouraged to work harder, produce more and therefore fill higher the tithe barn of the Exchequer”.
Mr Johnson went on: “Again, there are plenty who think this would be a good idea. Nigel Lawson has recently argued that the top rate should go back down to 40p. I am among them.”
Former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood said Mr Osborne’s controversial decision to cut the top rate from 50p to 45p had proven that tax revenues would go up if the rates were cut. He said: “So it makes sense; if you want to tax the rich more, that is the way to do it.”
But the YouGov research revealed barely a fifth of the public would agree, including only 30 per cent of people who voted Conservative in May.
Some 30 per cent thought the rate should stay at 45p, including 41 per cent of Conservatives.
The option of raising it back to 50p was the most popular, with 36 per cent backing it. But only 21 per cent of Conservatives agreed with the move, compared with 50 per cent of Labour supporters.
A rise to 50p was more strongly backed by men than women, and was more popular among voters over 40.
Mr Osborne kept his options open when asked about his plans in an interview yesterday.
“We made some promises in the election and I want to deliver on the promises,” he said, pointing to tax breaks for the lower paid and middle classes. “Those are our priorities.”
Tanya Abraham of YouGov said: “George Osborne is faced with a dilemma this week. Close to 160 Tory MPs are calling for a tax cut for high earners, however, most Londoners either prefer the rate to stay at 45p or see an increase to 50p. If the top rate is cut, will the Conservatives face a backlash? Is a tax increase sustainable in the long-term? We will find out on Wednesday what the Budget has in store for the public.”
This week’s Budget will be Mr Osborne’s first without the Liberal Democrats and he is expected to take the opportunity to be more radical.
Among measures expected are a £650 million raid on BBC finances by telling the corporation to fund free television licences for the over-75s, possibly by charging iPlayer viewers.
He is also planning to cut the cap on household welfare claims from £26,000 across the country to £20,000 outside London and £23,000 in the capital. It is the first such regional cap.