Streeting Rules Out Vat On Private Healthcare

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has ruled retired nan UK authorities imposing VAT connected backstage healthcare successful nan upcoming autumn Budget.

Streeting told nan BBC "it's not happening" and repeated that reply erstwhile asked if he could guarantee VAT would not beryllium levied connected backstage healthcare.

In nan UK, astir backstage healthcare services are exempt from VAT, meaning patients don't usually salary nan taxation connected treatments.

But Chancellor Rachel Reeves has faced repeated questions astir nan imaginable of taxation rises, including VAT, erstwhile she delivers her fund successful November.

Economists person said taxes will person to spell up successful nan autumn Budget if nan chancellor is to meet her self-imposed rules connected borrowing to money nationalist services.

In her Labour convention reside connected Monday, Reeves said nan authorities was facing difficult choices and promised she would not return risks pinch nan nationalist finances.

The chancellor pledged to support "taxes, ostentation and liking rates arsenic debased arsenic possible".

But hinting astatine further taxation rises, she said nan government's choices had been made "harder" by world events and nan "long-term damage" done to nan economy.

In its predetermination manifesto, Labour said it would not summation National Insurance, nan basic, higher, aliases further rates of income tax, aliases VAT.

In an question and reply up of her convention speech, Reeves was asked if VAT could emergence and she said: "The manifesto commitments stand."

That shape of words has been echoed by elder ministers astatine Labour's conference, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

But erstwhile pressed complete whether she would person to put up taxes, Reeves said "the world has changed" successful nan past twelvemonth - pointing to wars successful Europe and nan Middle East, US tariffs and nan world costs of borrowing.

"We're not immune to immoderate of those things," she added.

VAT is levied astatine a modular complaint of 20% connected astir equipment and services successful nan UK, unless they are classed arsenic reduced aliases zero-rated.

Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has called for Reeves to put VAT connected backstage healthcare to raise money for nan NHS.

The Labour adjacent told nan one newspaper removing nan VAT exemption connected backstage healthcare would supply "vital funding" for nationalist services and beryllium "widely supported" by nan public.

The argumentation is supported by nan Good Growth Foundation deliberation tank, which estimates putting VAT connected backstage acute healthcare could raise much than £2bn.

The precocious costs of semipermanent authorities borrowing and anemic economical maturation has fuelled speculation nan chancellor will request to summation taxes.

Last month, an independent deliberation tank, nan National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr), estimated that nan chancellor would request to plug a £50bn spread successful nan nationalist finances.

But nan chancellor played down nan fig and criticised specified forecasters, saying "a batch of them are talking rubbish".