Burnham faces wealth tax revolt as ally who turned down job now says it would be 'stupid' to raise capital gains tax Ministers would be ‘stupid’ if they increased wealth taxes and ‘scared, lazy and constrained’ if they failed to tackle welfare reform, a senior Burnham ally has warned. Lord Jim O’Neill, who turned down an expected government role only days ago, said more wealth taxes in the government’s crucial first budget would damage economic growth and see entrepreneurs quit the country. The former Tory treasury minister, who was hotly tipped to be Andy Burnham’s Chief Economic Adviser, said rises in taxes like inheritance tax and capital gains tax could in fact ‘end up losing money’ for the Treasury with business owners deferring selling companies and moving money out of the country to avoid tax. Lord O’Neill, who last week said the government must tackle welfare spending to bring down debt and called for a ‘sensible, realistic approach to welfare spending’, said: ‘I do think it would be stupid. At a time where a lot of business still struggles from Brexit and struggles from the changes in national insurance and the labour market changes to zero hours to have that and inheritance tax, it's just like it would be yet more, and obviously at a time where the country's growth rate has been so weak.’ https://mol.im/a/16089255

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