Liz Truss and Keir Starmer clashed on taxes at the new Prime Minister’s first Question Time in the House of Commons.
The Labour leader challenged the new Conservative leader over the energy crisis and the failure to tax excess oil and gas profits.
Starmer asked if she would freeze prices and pay for it through a windfall tax on excess oil and gas firm profits.
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He said the excess profits as a result of rising wholesale prices ran to £170billion.
Truss said she was not going to impose a windfall tax.
She said: “What I’m determined to do is make sure we have an economy with high wages and high skilled jobs. The way to do that is by reducing tax and building economic growth.
“I am against a windfall tax. The wrong thing would to be putting companies off investing in the United Kingdom.”
Starmer said she was leaving ordinary people to pay for the energy crisis.
He said: “The real choice is who is going to pay. Is she really telling us she will leave these vast profits on table and leave people to foot the bill.”
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Truss said I understand people are struggling with energy bills. I will make an announcement tomorrow.
She said she would “give people certainty they are able to get through this winter and have the energy supply and be able to afford it.”
She said in the long term there needs to be more oil and gas extracted from the North Sea and more nuclear power to ensure the security of future energy supplies.
The pair clashed on the different approaches, each accusing the other of being stuck in their party's ways.
Starmer said: “Every single pound in excess profit she chooses not to tax is an extra pound of borrowing.”
“First act is to borrow more than needed because she won’t touch oil and as profits.”
He added: “She is protecting oil and gas profits and forcing people to foot the bill.”
“There is nothing new about a Tory Prime Minister who when asked who pays, says ‘it’s you the people of Great Britain’.”
Truss retorted: “This country will not be able to tax its way to growth.”
She said she would “keep taxes low” adding “I’m on the side of people who work hard and do the right thing.”
She said: “There is nothing new about a Labor leader who is falling for tax rises. The same old, same old, tax and spend.
“He doesn’t understand aspiration, he doesn’t understand opportunity.”
SNP Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, asked if she would freeze energy prices and pay for it through a windfall tax.
The Prime Minister said: “No, it won’t be paid for by windfall tax. I don’t believe we can tax our way to growth.”
Blackford said rather than tax the profits she was “imposing a decade long raid on the bank accounts of ordinary people.”
He branded it: “A Truss tax households and businesses will be paying for years to come.”
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