Liz Truss starts tax cuts revolution and ‘doesn’t care if the richest make her unpopular’

LIZ Truss last night fired the starting gun on a tax cuts revolution — and insisted she did not care if the richest gaining the most made her unpopular.

Income tax could be cut as she plots a Budget that could see the biggest tax overhaul since the 1980s.

The new PM will launch a major shake-up of all levies for hard-up families and businesses, with Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng preparing to unveil his mini-Budget on Friday.

Speaking as she arrived in New York for her first major international summit as Prime Minister, she said: “I don’t accept this argument that cutting taxes is somehow unfair.

“What we know is people on higher incomes generally pay more tax so when you reduce taxes there is often a disproportionate benefit.”

A source told The Sun that the PM’s quest for growth would trigger a “seismic shift” in policy not seen since the days of Margaret Thatcher.

She is preparing to lift a long-standing cap on bankers’ bonuses and could look at reducing the 45p top rate of tax.

She all but confirmed that Friday would see the National Insurance levy reversed and the corporation tax rise shelved.

Ms Truss said: “Not every measure will be popular.

“This is about growing the size of the pie.

“If that means taking difficult decisions, yes, I’m prepared to make those decisions.”

Last night Mark Littlewood of the Institute of Economic Affairs said the mini-Budget might see “the most radical changes in tax and regulatory policy since the 1980s”.

Ms Truss also said today on her first overseas trip since becoming PM:

• She was prepared to be “unpopular” with her plans – but insisted it was the right thing to do to grow the economy
• A trade deal with the US was still years away as Joe Biden