Hilary Benn
Main Page: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)Department Debates - View all Hilary Benn's debates with the HM Treasury
(2 years, 2 months ago)
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Kwasi Kwarteng
We have looked at that in the past. It was not without controversy, but I would be happy to hear my hon. Friend’s ideas on the subject.
Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
The Chancellor argues, on the one hand, that those on the lowest incomes—people on universal credit—should face the threat of their income being reduced further to boost economic growth, while on the other hand, that people already on the highest incomes, such as bankers, need an increase in their incomes through their bonuses to do the same. How on earth is that fair?
Kwasi Kwarteng
It is a very basic lesson. We currently tax bonuses at about 50%, which goes into public services. It is absolutely legitimate to get more people into the labour market. That seems to be a reasonable thing to want to do.