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Labour accused of letting 'cat out of the bag' on income tax

Ed Balls speaking to Ian Axton on Tuesday's ITV News West Country

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has been criticised by the Tories for his comments on our programme yesterday, in which he refused to rule out lowering the 40p tax rate threshold if Labour get into power.

According to the Daily Mail, Chancellor George Osborne described the comments as confirming "a tax assault on middle earners".

Ed Balls has let the cat out of the bag ... He has confirmed that he and Ed Miliband will put up taxes on middle Britain. It is part of Labour's £3,000 tax rise for working families. By contrast, the Conservative plan is to increase to £50,000 the threshold at which people pay the higher rate of tax.

– George Osborne

The paper reports a Labour spokesman describing the Conservative proposal as "completely unfunded", and saying the party's spending plans could lead to an increase in VAT and cuts to the NHS.

Working people are paying more under this government, which is why the only tax changes we are proposing are on the very richest in society like reversing the Tory tax cut for millionaires.

– Labour Party spokesman

The Shadow Chancellor's original comments: