Bombshells, black holes and promises – this morning's announcement is part of a phony war over finances ahead of the publication of party manifestos in two weeks' time.
When it comes to taxing and spending, at least for now, the major parties are concerned with what they will do. do not have Instead of making an actual plan, be clear about what you intend to do.
They are pointing at the other side, trying to lock them in.
After exchanging statements at a press conference late on Wednesday night, both parties pledged to leave the headline VAT rate unchanged.
They have already said the same about the headline rates of income tax and national insurance.
Following briefings from Labour this morning, both parties confirmed that the currently frozen tax minimum will remain in place for the next three years, equating to an £11 billion tax increase.
When they say they won't raise taxes, they actually mean they won't raise taxes. Fee Taxes.
But millions of people will pay more tax because rising wages will raise the top tax rate.
The country is left with two major parties with the same promise to leave the three main tax rates unchanged, they have the same debt rules and use the same forecasts released by the Office for Budget Responsibility in March as the basis for their plans.
Labour has also pledged to raise the same amount to crack down on tax evasion, but Labour says it will provide more funding to HM Revenue and Customs to make that happen.
The difference now is that the Conservatives argue that a renewed focus on using AI to improve productivity in public services will enable them to tighten public spending further after the election.
They argue that Labour cannot and therefore will not reduce the tax burden.
Labour's main argument, meanwhile, is that the experience of the past few years means that the Conservatives' tax promises and general promises about economic stability cannot be trusted.
There may be some truth in these rather sophisticated claims. But what's perhaps most interesting is the reappearance of what seems like a rather outdated playbook: pre-election tax promises.
There is a long tradition of doing this in elections, and there is reason to doubt the meaning of such promises.
Who can forget the Liberal Democrats' 2010 election posters warning of a Conservative VAT bomb?
Within a few weeks, the then Liberal Democrat leader would actually vote and debate it. for The Conservative Chancellor's increase in VAT.
The Conservative government once passed a “fiscal lock,” a law that seemingly banned tax increases, but Prime Minister Theresa May abandoned it at the next election.
During its term in power, the Labour Party introduced a 50p income tax, despite its campaign promises.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the fact that at the last election the Conservative government promised not to increase the rates of income tax, national insurance or VAT.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak himself oversaw a manifesto-contrary rise in National Insurance premiums, which has now been completely reversed.
Despite keeping this pledge to the letter on income tax and VAT, taxes have risen significantly – in fact the biggest tax increase in our lifetimes on a tax base freeze – by more than £40 billion a year by 2029.
Incidentally, this would be the same as a 6p increase in the basic rate of income tax.
In this context, perhaps the real question is this: Do voters really believe that a political promise not to raise taxes means anything?
