News 25 February 2021

Channel 4 News features Kekst CNC polling giving detailed insight into next week's budget planning

New Kekst CNC polling featured this evening on Channel 4 News shows that the British public want to see higher taxes for large companies and online retailers, but tax breaks for the travel industry and the leisure/hospitality sector.

Taken ahead of next week’s Budget, the nationally representative poll of UK adults finds that people would rather see increases in taxation than spending cuts to address the debt – a consensus shared between Conservative and Labour voters alike. And, as the Chancellor mulls increasing corporation tax, the poll finds two-thirds of the public support such a move.

People are less supportive of personal taxation but, framed alongside an increase to corporation tax, there is public permission to pay more. For example, asked about combining a freezing of tax thresholds with an increase in corporation tax, the public back it by a margin of three to one, with 48% in support and 15% opposed.

These results, similar to those being analysed in Downing Street and the Treasury, will inform not only what the Chancellor feels he can announce next week, but also in the months ahead.

On Friday 26th, Claire Maloney, Partner at Kekst CNC, will chair a panel of our research experts and former government pollsters James Johnson and Tom Lubbock to discuss these insights and what they mean for the Chancellor’s decision-making – and what the implications are for business. They will be joined by Sir Robbie Gibb, former Director of Communications at No10, who will talk us through what we might expect next week from the Budget. Sign up for the webinar HERE.

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