Tory ministers will press ahead with planned tax hikes despite the spiralling cost of living crisis, Michael Gove has said.
The Levelling Up Secretary said the Government won't "do away with" the manifesto-busting National Insurance rise that will begin to hit Brits within weeks.
From April 1, workers, employers and the self-employed will all pay 1.25p more in the pound for National Insurance contributions - from 12% to 13.25% - as part of efforts to cut Covid backlogs in the NHS and social care.
A worker on £20,000 a year would pay an extra £89 in tax, while someone on £50,000 will pay £464 more.
The hike comes as energy bills, rail fares, council tax and inflation are all on the rise, while income tax thresholds and childcare help are frozen and free Covid tests are set to be axed.
Rishi Sunak is facing calls from all sides to do more to help Brits in his upcoming Spring Statement, as the war in Ukraine fuels price rises.
But the Chancellor is understood to be resisting making any major announcements on energy bills in the upcoming mini-Budget with the situation so volatile.
A source said Mr Sunak would likely wait until closer to the next price cap review in October before making a decision.
He has already announced a £150 council tax discount for people living in bands A-D and a £200 rebate on energy bills, which will be clawed back in monthly instalments.
Asked if the Government is going to cut people's taxes, Mr Gove told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme: "No, what we have to do at the moment is to provide support in every way possible that is targeted.
"We have cut taxes by cutting council tax for people who are on the lower bands, we're doing that deliberately in order to target support at those on lower incomes at a time when we know that they face considerable pressures.
"But behind your question may be a suggestion that we should do away with the national insurance increase. No, we're not doing that.
"We need that national insurance increase in order to make sure that we can fund the NHS and social care to deal with the Covid backlog."
Brits are facing the "worst collection of pressures" on their standard of living in years, Labour has warned.
Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: "I cannot give you an historical parallel for the kind of squeeze the British public are already enduring and are about to endure.
"The first thing to say is I think clearly what is happening in Ukraine makes the pressures more acute, but we had a crisis before this began."
Mr Reynolds said there needed to be a "much stronger response from the Chancellor" at the spring statement beyond the "buy now pay later" scheme to lower council tax contributions.
Boris Johnson is reportedly considering a trip to Saudi Arabia to push for action to keep oil prices down as the West battles to wean itself off Russian oil and gas.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak urged businesses to "think very carefully" about any investment in Russia and said the UK must "collectively go further in our mission to inflict maximum pain" on Vladimir Putin.
A string of big UK firms including BP, Shell and Centrica have announced plans to cut ties with Russia due to the war in Ukraine.
Mr Sunak said in a statement on Sunday: “I welcome commitments already made by a number of firms to divest from Russian assets – and I want to make it crystal clear that the government supports further signals of intent.
“I am urging firms to think very carefully about their investments in Russia and how they may aid the Putin regime – and I am also clear that there is no case for new investment in Russia.
“We must collectively go further in our mission to inflict maximum economic pain - and to stop further bloodshed.”
