Chancellor Jeremy Hunt should increase taxes on firms that use foreign workers to raise £8 billion in revenue and drive down migration, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has told GB News.
In an exclusive interview with GB News’ Political Editor Christopher Hope ahead of tomorrow’s Budget announcement, she said: “I'm very interested in something I did as Home Secretary in raising taxes and charges on businesses that employ foreign workers. So we have already an immigration health surcharge and an immigration skills charge.
“I think we need to increase those charges that would not only raise revenue, estimated to be up to £8 billion. But it will also have a benefit of lowering net migration and we know the British People have voted time and time again, to lower overall numbers and we have unprecedented numbers of foreign workers coming in.”
Asked if she raised the idea when she was in the Cabinet, she said: “Well as Home Secretary I did succeed in the conversation and secured agreement with the Chancellor on raising visa fees. So we did see about a 10% hike in visa fees. But if you look at it, it's a very inelastic demand. Numbers of visas has gone up year on year, they've reached unprecedented levels, 700,000 net migration number last year.
“I think it's only right that we try and attach an economic consequence to that. So if businesses were to cover the costs of people using health services, they were to increase the tax they pay because they were employing foreign workers. I think we would see an increase in revenue, but also see a fall in net migration.”
On her general view on taxation, she said: “My preference would be two p of the basic rate of income tax, and Rishi Sunak himself promised to take a penny off the basic rate and I would go further with two p because I think that would really send the message that people will be able to keep more of what they earn.”
She was asked if she believed that the Prime Minister is a tax cutter, Braverman said: “I think in his heart he is, I think he's been very prudent thus far. I think the time has come now given the beneficial economic conditions and the following inflation [figures] and the growing economy. That we do need to be bold and we need to send the message and I don't think we've quite done it yet, that we're on the side of the British taxpayer. We need to send the message that we're the party of low tax, and that fundamentally, people can keep more of what they earn.”
She also spoke about her fears for the party: “Listen the polls are very very worrying…in my constituency, we are facing local elections in two months time, and people are very, very concerned. I worry very much for the prospects of our party, not just at the local elections but also at the general election. But more than that, I worry about Labour taking the reins of power in this country.
“I think they would do untold damage to our economy. I think that they would be very weak and that Keir Starmer will be incredibly weak in terms of this rising threat from extremism. I don't think he will be able to control his party. And I think when it comes to standing up for Britain, and standing up for British people, Labour will be a total and utter failure. And that's what worries me the most.”
She was asked if she agreed with Lee Anderson’s recent controversial comments about Sadiq Khan: “Listen Lee Anderson is a great colleague of mine. I totally abhor the accusations that have been launched against him, he is not racist, he is not Islamophobic.
“He's calling out very poor performance by the Mayor of London who has completely failed to hold the Met Commissioner to account and which is why in emboldened Islamism in the streets of London. We have seen an MP hounded out of office because of Islamism. We've seen Parliament totally subverted and the proper procedures abused because…out of fear from Islamism. We've seen anti-Semitism at record high, you know, I could go on.”
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