The Tories will have to raise tax to cope with coronavirus. When will Rishi Sunak admit it?

VAT is bound to be put on the agenda again by Treasury officials but, warns Andrew Grice, it would hurt the Tories’ new working-class voters in former red wall seats

Chancellor Rishi Sunak serves food in Wagamama, after announcing his discount dining shceme (Rishi Sunak)

As a country, we need to talk about tax. Rishi Sunak didn’t want to mention the T-word when he was quizzed by the Treasury Select Committee this week. But with a return to austerity ruled out, the chancellor will have to pre-announce some tax increases in his autumn Budget, even if they don’t take effect until next year or the year after so they don’t choke off the recovery.

Although Conservative MPs prefer their comfort zone demand for tax cuts, everyone at Westminster knows it’s not a question of whether taxes rise, but how. The fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has warned that £60bn of increases are needed to stabilise the public finances.

The select committee is asking the right questions in an enquiry launched on Friday. It is also looking at tax reform, including how to protect the tax base from globalisation and technological change and whether windfall taxes should play a role in the post-coronavirus world. The tech giants should probably be nervous.