Liz Truss puts pressure on Rishi Sunak to cut taxes during Texas trip

Governor Greg Abbott and Liz Truss in Texas Photo: gov.texas.gov

Liz Truss pressured Rishi Sunak to slashed state taxes as she unveiled her US economic growth agenda.

The former prime minister held talks in Austin, Texas, with Greg Abbott, the state's governor, about the need to cut taxes and regulations.

This comes after her speech at last week's Conservative Party conference, where she called on the government to «get business going» by cutting corporation tax.

Ms. Truss tweeted: «Nice to meet Governor [Greg Abbott] in Austin to talk about their success in bringing investment, jobs and economic growth to Texas through low taxes, smart regulation and affordable energy.»

She outlined how the UK could follow the Texas model of «low taxes, smart regulation and affordable energy». «business-friendly policies,» the state governor said in a statement.

The former prime minister was also reported to have «thanked» Mr Abbott for an $18bn (£15bn) property tax cut ) earlier this year.

Tory demands for tax cuts are likely to intensify in the coming weeks. ahead of the autumn statement on November 22, but the Prime Minister has signaled he will prioritize tackling inflation.

'Business coffers plundered'

Ms Truss this month called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to cut corporation tax from 25 to 19 percent to end Britain's «25 years of economic stagnation.»

Speaking on the sidelines of the Tory conference, she said: “We must unleash British business by cutting corporation tax.”

“We cannot stand by while companies like AstraZeneca move their operations overseas from -for our huge taxes. burden or small businesses closing shop because they are drowning in bureaucratic red tape.

“We should be hungry to attract the world's best businesses and encourage people to start businesses here at home. We must not normalize the looting of corporate coffers.

«Ahead of this year's autumn statement, we must make the Conservative Party the party of business again by cutting corporation tax to 19 per cent.»

Ms Truss has repeatedly promised to reverse the planned tax rise. corporation tax from 19 to 25 percent before becoming prime minister last year. She later abandoned the policy as her «mini-budget» collapsed.

Mr Sunak, who lost to Ms Truss in the Tory leadership race last year, said he was «not interested» in returning to the corporation tax debate following her conference speech.

Asserting the move was not the “right priority”, he said: “I think we had that debate last summer, and I'm not interested in looking into the past. I'm interested in doing the right thing for the country in the long term.

“A lot of people will have a lot of ideas. I don't think this is the right priority. I have been very clear about that.”

Under Mr Sunak, corporation tax increased from 19 to 25 percent in April this year.