Taxd‘s If I Were In Charge report asked a simple question: if you ran the Treasury, what would you change? Nearly six in ten adults (58 per cent) said they would cut council tax, against just 7 per cent who would raise it. Half (50 per cent) would cut VAT. Yet only a third (33 per cent) said they would cut taxes if it meant spending less on public services.

That gap leaves the Chancellor with a harder choice than the familiar argument over whether taxes should rise or fall, with the Budget approaching and household finances under scrutiny.

The research also points to a sense of unfairness. Some 56 per cent of respondents said the tax system is unfair to people like them, compared with 18 per cent who said it is fair. Among those who feel it is unfair, 43 per cent said tax rises had not been matched by better public services.

The findings are not simple anti-tax sentiment, however. Many respondents said they would be willing to pay more if they could see where the money goes.

Arjun Kumar, co-founder and co-CEO of Taxd, said: “What comes through is not a demand for simply more or less tax, but for a different shape of taxation: lighter on work and everyday spending, and more willing to look at wealth.”

“The same answers show the bind any Chancellor is in. Nearly six in ten adults would cut council tax and half would cut VAT, but only a third would accept lower public spending to pay for it.

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