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Trailing in the race to the keys of 10, Downing Street, Tory leader Rishi Sunak has announced that if voted to power, he will reduce the basic rates of income tax by 20 per cent by 2029. 

Sunak stated that his immediate target was tackling inflation. However, once that is achieved, his government will slash one pence off income tax in 2024, as announced in his tenure as the chancellor. Afterwards, another three pence will be struck off the income tax, come 2029. 

Betting on his tax-cut programme, Sunak described it as a radical yet realistic vision. 

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“It is a radical vision but it is also a realistic one and there are some core principles that I’m simply not prepared to compromise on, whatever the prize,” said Sunak, who further added, “Firstly I will never get taxes down in a way that just puts inflation up. Secondly, I will never make promises I can’t pay for. And thirdly I will always be honest about the challenges we face.” 

Currently embroiled in a race with foreign secretary Liz Truss, Sunak has been losing ground lately. After Boris Johnson resigned from the PM post, Sunak was dubbed the clear front runner. However, in recent times, some of his statements and actions have changed the tide in favour of Truss. 

Moreover, Sunak's future tax cut promise only comes in the backdrop of Truss announcing immediate tax cuts, which has propelled her popularity amongst the masses, especially the 175,000 conservative party members who received their postal ballots on Monday. 

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Inflation is at an all-time high of 9.4 per cent in the UK. Thus, it will be interesting to observe if Truss' populist measure of immediate tax cuts agrees with the economy or not. Sunak is proposing a realistic way to reduce the cuts but the public is swaying with Truss. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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