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Shadow chancellor says Labour would ‘ramp up’ number of HMRC staff to close gap between what is owed and paidUK politics – latest updatesThe shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said proposals to close the tax gap to fill a hole in her spending plans is not “rocket science”.Reeves was forced to respond after Jeremy Hunt used his budget to adopt some of Labour’s revenue-raising...

The chancellor’s biggest giveaway is likely to be a further cut to national insurance contributionsJeremy Hunt is due to set out the government’s plans for tax and spending in his budget on Wednesday. In what is expected to be the last budget before a general election, the chancellor’s biggest giveaway is likely to be a further cut to the national insurance contributions paid by...

Exclusive: Joseph Rowntree Foundation finds widening gulf between demand for tax cuts and reality for millions strugglingJeremy Hunt has been told Wednesday’s budget risks condemning Britain to a second “lost decade” for living standards that would leave working families £1,900 a year worse off.The chancellor enters a crunch week under pressure from his party to deliver a package of pre-election tax cuts, but analysis...

Chancellor says less room now for giveaway in March despite being widely thought to be gearing up for cutsThe chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has said there will be less room for tax cuts in the spring budget next month, just days after the International Monetary Fund warned that the UK needed to focus on repairing its public finances.Hunt, who in November announced he was cutting...