The Chancellor has further fuelled speculation that she is planning to increase capital gains tax when she refused to rule out the move during a TV interview.
Rachel Reeves was being interviewed by Bloomberg during her trip to the US, where she is seeking to drum up investment in the UK.
In a previous interview for the News Agents podcast she admitted “I think we will have to increase taxes in the Budget”, but did not specify which ones she would target.
Speaking from New York in the latest interview yesterday evening, she was asked if she was considering raising CGT.
She said: “We’ve got a budget on October 30 and we will set out our policy then, but it’s always important when you’re deciding tax policy to strike the right balance.
“Of course you need to bring in the revenue to fund vital public services, but we’ve also got to grow the economy.
“I won’t do anything that makes it harder to achieve that economic growth and prosperity.”
Last month, Reeves launched a scathing attack on the previous government, saying the Tories had “covered-up” the state of the nation’s finances.
She said they had left her with a “£22bn black hole” and warned that she would have to make difficult decisions in order to fix it.
It is thought that she may be planning to increase the rate of CGT in line with income tax.
Analysis by Quilter last week found that landlords could face paying an average of £11,000 extra when disposing of property if this happens.
In 2022/23 the government took more than £14bn in CGT payments and any increase to the tax rates could provide a further boost to revenue.
Currently basic rate taxpayers are charged 18% on gains and higher rate taxpayers are charged 24%.
Raising rates in line with income tax would increase these figures to 20% and 40% respectively.
