财政大臣约翰·希利表示，他不会在下周的预算中提高英国的资本利得税，而是依靠对银行收入征收的税项来为工党政府的计划提供资金。
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey won’t increase the UK’s tax on capital gains in his budget next week, as he relies instead on a levy on bank revenues to fund the Labour government’s plans.
财政部一位官员透露，希利已排除提高投资收益税的可能性。该官员在讨论即将出台的支出计划细节时要求匿名。该决定首次于周一晚间被《伦敦时报》报道，即不提高目前对高收入纳税人征收24%的资本利得税。
The chancellor has ruled out increasing the tax on investment gains, according to a Treasury official, who asked not to be named while discussing details of the upcoming spending plan. The decision not to increase the tax, which is currently levied at 24% for payers of the higher rate, was first reported late Monday by the Times of London newspaper.
尽管希利早已决定不对齐资本利得税与政治左翼主张的45%所得税税率，但财政部曾留下实施更小幅度、更渐进式增税的可能性。这促使英国富裕阶层纷纷采取行动以尽量减少潜在增税的影响，财务顾问称其为10月28日预算出台前的“头号问题”。
While Healey had already decided against equalizing capital gains levies with the 45% rate charged on income, as advocated by many on the political left, the Treasury had held out the possibility of a smaller, more incremental increase. That prompted wealthy Britons to rush to minimize their exposure to any increase, with financial advisers describing it as the “No. 1 issue” in the run up to the budget on Oct. 28.
排除任何资本利得税增加的决定表明，希利坚持推出比其前任瑞秋·里夫斯时期更少扰动的预算方案。里夫斯时期的预算曾被指责削弱了消费者信心并减少了招聘。与全球同僚一样，希利也正面临因美国领导的对伊朗战争导致的借款激增和能源成本上升的压力。
The decision to rule out any capital gains increase suggests Healey is holding fast to plans to deliver a budget less disruptive than the past two under his predecessor, Rachel Reeves, which have been blamed for sapping consumer confidence and reducing hiring. The chancellor, like counterparts around the world, is coping with a surge in borrowing and energy costs as a result of the US-led war against Iran.
尽管如此，希利仍在考虑提高银行税，以帮助为“有针对性且临时”的救济措施提供资金，以缓解因冲突导致能源账单上升的最弱势消费者的负担。彭博社上周报道，该举措可能涉及将目前叠加在标准25%公司税率之上的3%银行附加税提高。
Still, Healey is still considering raising taxes on banks to help pay for “targeted and temporary” relief to help the neediest consumers with energy bills driven up by the conflict. The move will likely involve increasing the 3% bank surcharge that’s levied on top of the standard 25% corporation tax rate, Bloomberg reported last week.
虽然议会中的工党成员，包括国防大臣韦斯·斯特里特，广泛主张提高资本利得税，但经济学家警告称，这类措施常常改变投资者行为，且难以产生足够的税收收入。里夫斯在她的首份预算中选择了较小幅度的增税，将年收入超过50,271英镑（约67,000美元）人群的税率从20%提高至24%，同时将低收入者的税率从10%提高至18%。
Although a hike in capital gains taxes has been widely advocated by Labour members of Parliament, including Defense Secretary Wes Streeting, economists warn they often alter investor behavior and fail to generate sufficient revenue. Reeves opted for smaller increases in her first budget, hiking the rate paid by those earning more than £50,271 ($67,000) to 24% from 20%, while raising the rate on lower earners to 18% from 10%.