Just a fifth of people would be willing to pay more tax to support the UK’s economic recovery from the shock caused by Coronavirus even on a temporary basis, new polling commissioned by PLMR has found. The poll featured in today’s Sunday Telegraph.

PLMR found that only 21.6% of respondents agreed that they would “temporarily be willing to pay more taxes to contribute to a quicker UK economic recovery post Covid19.”

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has indicated the economic impact of coronavirus is likely to push the deficit to as high as £260bn, putting pressure on the Chancellor to raise more revenue to balance the public finances.

The poll, conducted by Censuswide on behalf of PLMR, also found that:

• 37% of respondents are “very concerned” that the Government support will soon end and the measures the Government has taken are putting strain on the economy.
• 30% believe the Government should prioritise raising living standards for public sector workers post COVID-19.
• 40% agree that the Government should prioritise delivering long-term reform of social care funding post COVID-19.

Commenting on the findings, Kevin Craig, CEO & Founder of PLMR, stated:

“The full scale of the economic consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic are likely to present an unprecedented challenge to the Government. The Chancellor has committed to doing whatever it takes to keep businesses afloat and people in their jobs, but this will be a huge cost to the public finances.

“Any attempt to usher in further austerity is likely to face a backlash given the high amount of support the British public has shown for public services throughout the response to Covid-19. However, our findings today also show that there is not widespread support for raising revenue through tax, no matter your gender, age, or the region you live in. Whatever route the Chancellor takes, it will have an impact on the future popularity of this Government.”

You can read the full findings here.

The research was conducted by Censuswide, with 1,001 respondents aged 16+ in UK between 22.04.2020-23.04.2020. The survey was conducted from a nationally representative sample of UK adults. Quotas were applied to nationally representative proportions for age, gender and region. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles.