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Labour rules out changes to council tax bands

Labour has ruled out changing council tax bands after continuing scrutiny about the party’s tax plans. Over the weekend, Conservatives seized on shadow health secretary Wes Streeting’s refusal to deny Labour government would copy council tax changes instituted by the Labour-run Welsh government.

But pushed for clarification on Times Radio, Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said: “We’re not changing council tax banding.”

As we head into the second half of the election campaign Conservative tactics are becoming clear. A blizzard of policy announcements has not shifted the polls so now the Conservatives are relentlessly attacking Labour’s economic policy, trying to force them to rule out one tax rise after another.

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has stated that Labour “don’t want to see the tax burden on working people increase” The party has already gone much further than Tony Blair did in 1997. His manifesto just promised no increase in the basic and top rates of income tax. It also stuck to the Tories’ spending plans for two years.

Going into this election Sir Keir Starmer ruled out rises in the rates of income tax, VAT, national insurance and corporation tax. He was asked in a Panorama interview last week whether he would repeat that pledge for Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

Sir Keir reiterated Labour’s pledge that none of his plans required tax rises beyond those already announced and that the manifesto was fully costed.

But that line was soon hardened up to a guarantee that people selling their main home would not pay CGT. Something similar has now happened over council tax.

Source: BBC

In other news – Ben Affleck takes the final decision regarding Jennifer Lopez’s divorce

Ben Affleck has decided to end his short-lived marriage to Jennifer Lopez even though he still loves and care for her, a source close to the actor has spilled. Multiple sources reported that JLo is desperate to make her marriage work, which is why the couple has not filed for divorce officially despite dealing with marital troubles.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck

Although he was not on board with Lopez’s decision, he tried to make their relationship work. However, it seems like it is not working anymore. Read more

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