'£25bn tax bomb' and 'Tory fight veers right'

Metro front page on 10/10
The Guardian front page on 10/10
FT front page on 10/10
The Financial Times splashes with a potential increase in employers' national insurance contributions, after Sir Keir "ducked the question" put to him by opposition leader Rishi Sunak. The paper quotes the PM saying he will not be drawn on specific taxes. The FT adds that Labour's election manifesto ruled out an increase. [BBC]
i front page on 10/10
The I headlines with workers getting the "right to flexible working under new Rayner law" and says employers must give one of eight reasons for refusing. The paper reports that flexible working can include starting later for childcare reasons and says this type of working will be the default where "practical". [BBC]
Daily Mail front page on 10/10
Daily Telegraph front page on 10/10
The Sun front page on 10/10
The Times front page on 10/10
The Mirror front page on 10/10
"Unmasked" is the headline for the Daily Mirror, after a judge ordered that the 17-year-old boy who killed his ex-girlfriend must be named. Logan MacPhail stabbed 15-year-old Holly Newton 36 times. The paper says the restriction on identifying him because of his age was lifted because of "public concern" over knife crime. [BBC]
Daily Express front page on 10/10
The Daily Express leads with pensioners hit with the winter fuel cuts now facing a "tax raid". It says a freeze to tax-excluded income means more pensioners will have to "pay up" after the state pension increases. [BBC]
Daily Star front page on 10/10
The Daily Star spills the tea on what it calls "Britain's biggest office skivers". It claims that colleagues who offer to make you a cup of tea are not doing so out of the goodness of their hearts, but as an excuse to not work, and "accruing an extra eight days of holidays" in the process. [BBC]

Several papers lead on the estimate by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that taxes will need to rise by up to £25bn in the budget if Labour is to meet its pledge to protect public spending.

The IFS has “calculated the cost of avoiding austerity”, according to the Times, which explains that taxes would need to rise by twice as much as in George Osborne's budget in 2010 - even if rules on borrowing are loosened.

The Daily Telegraph says the £25bn gap has been partly driven by a bigger-than-forecast increase in population of about 1m, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves's decision to give public sector workers higher-than-inflation pay deals.

A number of papers note the prime minister's refusal in the Commons on Wednesday to rule out putting up employers' national insurance. The Financial Times says Sir Keir Starmer has “opened the door” to a multi-billion pound rise, which could involve levying national insurance on employer pension contributions.

The Guardian reports that Treasury officials are examining the move, which could raise up to £17bn annually, while a pensions specialist at the consultants PWC tells the FT there could be implications for employee salary sacrifice schemes.

The Daily Mail says there's fury among business leaders about “Labour's revolution for workers” - also known as the Employment Rights Bill - which will be introduced to the Commons on Thursday.

The Federation of Small Businesses is quoted warning that new protections from unfair dismissal will deter bosses from taking on new recruits, in case they end up facing a tribunal when someone simply isn't suited to the role. Writing in the Daily Mirror, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner says the reforms are “personal” for her - and show the government is delivering for working people.

The lead story for the Daily Express is that some pensioners - who are losing their winter fuel payment - are among more than 100,000 people who have been dragged into paying income tax because of frozen thresholds. The former Lib Dem pensions minister Sir Steve Webb, who obtained the data from HMRC, tells the Express it's time personal allowances were raised. The campaign group Silver Voices urges Labour to borrow a Conservative proposal, for an age-related tax allowance.

In other news, the Daily Telegraph proposes five possible explanations for the shock elimination of James Cleverly from the Conservative leadership contest. By far the most complex of these involves supporters of Robert Jenrick backing Cleverly in previous rounds, lulling his team into a false sense of security, the paper explains. The Telegraph's leader column says the Conservatives “never cease to surprise” when it comes to selecting a leader. The paper points out that neither Robert Jenrick nor Kemi Badenoch have the backing of the majority of Tory MPs, something it says “may yet prove problematic”.

The Daily Star leads on a study that claims office tea-makers are in effect accruing an extra eight days' holiday a year, through repeated trips to put the kettle on. Smokers gained six days while habitual latecomers built up three. The Tea Advisory Panel, which promotes the benefits of tea, insists to the Star that having a brew at work raises morale, and allows for reflection.

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