Rayner ‘suggested tax raid on savers’ to Reeves ahead of spring statement

Angela Rayner sent a memo to Rachel Reeves suggesting an increase in taxes for savers, reports have claimed.

The deputy prime minister was said to have suggested reinstating the pensions lifetime allowance and changing dividend taxes to raise revenue ahead of the spring statement, The Telegraph reported.

The lifetime pensions allowance limited how much savers could put in their pension pot before incurring a higher tax charge and was abolished under the Tories.

The deputy prime minister reportedly sent the suggestions in a memo titled “alternative proposals for raising revenue”, which estimated the changes could raise £3 billion to £4 billion a year.

The chancellor has been adamant she will not turn to tax rises as part of the government’s efforts to fund its policies. But there have been reports that Ms Rayner has been pushing back against spending cuts behind the scenes.

Ending the inheritance tax relief on shares for the Alternative Investment Market, raising the bank surcharge to 5 per cent, and freezing the additional rate income tax threshold above £125,140 so more people would be dragged into a higher band were also among the proposals.

She also was said to have floated closing the commercial property stamp duty loophole and increasing the annual tax on enveloped dwellings, as well as raising rates on dividend taxes to bring them closer to income tax and removing the tax-free dividend allowance.

A government source said it is normal practice for Cabinet colleagues to have such discussions, and they should not be read as an endorsement of any particular idea or proposal.

A government spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on leaks.”