Rishi Sunak will outline plans to cut taxes when inflation has been brought back under control as he launches his bid to become leader of the UK Conservative party and prime minister.
The former chancellor will insist he has a plan to deal with the economic challenges the country is facing, saying it is a matter of when, not if the tax burden starts to fall.
At an event to launch his campaign on Tuesday he will receive heavyweight support from another former chancellor, Lord Norman Lamont, who said Mr Sunak had the courage to make the “tough decisions” to deal the “extremely serious” economic situation.
Mr Sunak is alone among the contenders to succeed Boris Johnson in not promising immediate tax cuts if he wins the race to become Tory leader.
He has come under attack from allies of the prime minister who believe his announcement last week that he was quitting helped to start the rush of resignations that forced Mr Johnson to admit his time was up.
But in his address, Mr Sunak will seek to make a virtue of his willingness to confront difficult economic realities.
“We need a return to traditional Conservative economic values, and that means honesty and responsibility, not fairy tales,” he will say.
“I have had to make some of the most difficult choices in my life when I was chancellor, in particular how to deal with our debt and borrowing after Covid.
“I have never hidden away from those and I certainly won’t pretend now that the choices I made, and the things I voted for, were somehow not necessary.
"Whilst this may be politically inconvenient, it is the truth.”
“My message to the party and the country is simple: I have a plan to steer our country through these headwinds. Once we have gripped inflation, I will get the tax burden down. It is a question of ‘when’, not ‘if’.”
Before the launch event in central London, Lord Lamont said: “The country faces an extremely serious economic situation.
“To weather the storm requires a high degree of competence, matched by the courage to make really tough decisions. The public understand this better than many politicians and will respond.
“Tax cuts unmatched by spending cuts achieve nothing. Yes, the tax burden needs to be reduced, as Rishi also believes, but only as and when the public finances allow.
“Mrs [former prime minister Margaret] Thatcher often said dealing with the deficit comes even before reducing taxes. Deficits are just delayed taxation.
“Rishi has the skill, determination and ideas to get us through this difficult period into more prosperous times.”
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane