WANNABE PM Nadhim Zahawi today unveiled a tax cuts bonanza that he claims will save squeezed families £900.
The Chancellor pledged to shave a penny off the 20p income tax basic rate next year and take it down to 18p in 2024.
Nadhim Zahawi unveils a bumper tax pledge
He also vowed to wipe VAT and green levies off energy bills for two years if elected to help Brits with soaring fuel prices.
And he said that since moving to the Treasury five days ago he is already looking to scrap the planned corporation tax rise.
He said: “Let me be clear. Tax as a percentage of GDP will fall year on year if I become prime minister. That is a promise.”
The Tory big beast has said he will pay for the swingeing tax cuts by slashing government spending by 20 per cent.
In a speech to the party faithful in Westminster’s Churchill War Rooms, he hailed true-blue policies pioneered by Margaret Thatcher.
He said: “When we talk about tax, we talk about freedom. The freedom to choose what you spend your hard-earned money on.
“The freedom to choose the food that you want in the supermarket without being penalised by the State for wanting a chocolate bar.
“The freedom to fill your car with petrol and travel as far as you like.”
Slashing income tax to 19p next year is a year earlier than the planned 2024 penny cut set by rival Rishi Sunak.
Mr Sunak is the only Tory leadership candidate not pledging dramatic tax cuts if he wins the keys to No10.
But Mr Zahawi took a bazooka to his predecessor’s tax plan with his bumper pledges of cuts.
He said: “Today, I can announce that, as Prime Minister, I will cut the base rate of income tax to 19p in 2023 and 18p in 2024. That will give households back £900 a year on average.
“You will note that I do not say that households will save £900. Families cannot save what has been taken from them, and we need to be very clear about that when we talk about income tax.”
He also said he was already working to unpick Mr Sunak’s corporation tax jump from 19 to 25p.
He trumpeted: “I am tired of hearing business being demonised. The majority are not ruthless profiteers.”
A source close to Mr Zahawi said: “The first thing he did as Chancellor before the mass of ministerial resignations was to task his officials with working up options for tax cuts and how to fund them.”
Every candidate except Mr Sunak has promised to reduce the tax burden, which is at its highest since the Second World War.
Liz Truss has vowed to cut taxes on day one of her premiership, while Penny Mordaunt wants to wield the tax axe too.
Mr Sunak meanwhile says it’s a “fairytale” that taxes can be cut at the moment.
