A key member of Rachel Reeves' Treasury team championed proposals to slash the threshold for businesses to pay VAT to £30,000, it has emerged, fuelling speculation the measure could be implemented as the chancellor seeks to raise billions to fill the Budget black hole.
Pensions minister Torsten Bell backed plans to introduce a “sharp cut” to the rate at which small businesses begin to pay VAT in his previous role as chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank.
