Sajid Javid reveals he planned to cut income tax by 2p and slash stamp duty in Budget before he quit as Chancellor
SAJID Javid leaked his own Budget yesterday — in revenge for being forced out of his job.
The former Chancellor revealed he planned to cut 2p off basic rate income tax before he resigned in a reshuffle row.
He was also poised to give hard-pressed motorists a break by extending the freeze on fuel duty. But his revelation enraged Boris Johnson — and undermined new Chancellor Rishi Sunak who has just 11 days to deliver a revamped Budget.
Last night a source said: “Saj has clearly put this out just to cause trouble. He got even in his Commons resignation speech last week. There was no need for him to stick the boot in again.”
Mr Javid, 50, quit the Cabinet last month in protest at a Downing Street power grab.
In his first interview since resigning, he revealed the centrepiece of his Budget would have been the biggest cut in basic rate income tax for 15 years. He said he hoped to get it down eventually to 15p and wanted to send a “huge signal for working people” that the Government was on their side.
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His revelation left rookie minister Mr Sunak facing the choice of ditching his predecessor’s plans or being accused of reading out a pre-cooked package.
Last night a source in the Downing Street-Treasury power base said Mr Javid’s plans also included tens of billions of pounds of tax rises.
The source added: “His scorecard never balanced the cost of a 2p tax cut.”
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