In a move that surprised the other political parties, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that there will be no rise in VAT if the Conservatives are re-elected.
During the last Prime Minister’s Questions before Parliament closes for the general election, Labour leader Ed Miliband asked whether David Cameron would commit to maintaining the point-of-sales tax as it currently stands.
Mr Cameron simply responded with a “Yes”, which he then expanded on by adding that there was “a clear promise on VAT from this side of the House”.
The Prime Minister then demanded that Labour follow his example by directly answering as to whether or not their party would rule out increasing National Insurance contributions to fund its promised commitments to public services.
Mr Miliband would not commit to giving an answer regarding National Insurance, but he told the Prime Minister that nobody would believe the Conservative party’s VAT pledge.
The current coalition Government increased the flat tax from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent following an agreement between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, but Mr Cameron’s promise silenced Labour after Mr Miliband failed to commit to a similar answer.
VAT impacts everyone through their everyday purchases, and the pledge to not increase the tax has been widely welcomed by the public.