British PM candidate Rishi Sunak vows 20% income tax cut by 2029

Rishi Sunak said the plan would mark the biggest income tax cut since the time of Margaret Thatcher.

Rishi Sunak, trailing in the race to become Britain's next prime minister, has vowed to slash the basic rate of income tax by 20% by 2029 in a potentially make-or-break throw of the dice by the former finance minister.

Mr. Sunak, once seen as the favourite to replace Boris Johnson when he helped to steer the economy through the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, has struggled against his rival, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who has pledged immediate tax cuts.

Mr. Sunak said he remained focused on tackling inflation but once that was achieved he would follow through on an already-announced plan to take 1 pence off income tax in 2024, and then take a further 3 pence off by the end of the next parliament, likely around 2029.

Also read: Racism not a factor in British PM race, says Rishi Sunak

The two pledges would take income tax from 20p to 16p.

Mr. Sunak said the plan would mark the biggest income tax cut since the time of Margaret Thatcher.

"It is a radical vision but it is also a realistic one," he said in a statement on Sunday, a day before Conservative Party members are due to start receiving their ballot papers to vote for the party's new leader.