The Tory Tax Cut Triumph

On the face of it, there is very little enthusiasm for the tax reforms the new Government is poised to unveil tomorrow.

Not particularly from within the Tory party, nor much from outside of it.

The idea that tax cuts will lead to economic growth is one of those notions right-wingers support implicitly, though they prefer we not look at the actual evidence.

(Mostly tax cuts just lead to lower tax revenue. That doesn’t mean they are wrong in itself, just that the premise is balls. Don’t go on about the Laffer curve, you are only fooling yourself.)

So from a PR point of view, the new policies are supposed to be a show of principle.

We are doing what we know to be right in the face of all opposition because we are tough, is the stance.

Or maybe they are just a bunch of nutty ideologues shoving through the things they would shove through in any circumstances.

But wait. Maybe the public actually thinks they might work.

Our Find Out Now poll today asked more than 2000 people: The new government wants to cut taxes, a move it says will boost economic growth. To what extent do you agree with this plan?

My bet was that most people would say they just didn’t know. (Find Out Now polls are honest like that. We don’t just ask people who answer polls for a living, unlike most of the rest.)

I was wrong.

The poll shows that 35% agree with the tax cuts, compared to 30% who disagree. That’s not a landslide, but it wins an election. Which is all Truss and co really care about

We also asked: Of the following taxes, which would you say the Government should cut the most, and which the least, in order to boost economic growth?

Income tax is the most important tax to cut, people say. Corporation tax the least important.

Since corporation tax cuts mostly just benefit executives, the public is, not for the first time, right about this.

You can see the full results below.