UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declined to rule out imposing a wealth tax or prolonging the freeze on income-tax and National Insurance thresholds, signalling that fresh revenue-raising measures remain on the table ahead of the autumn Budget. Questioned in the House of Commons by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay, Starmer reaffirmed Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise the headline rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT but resisted repeated invitations to give the same assurance on thresholds or on a possible levy on high-net-worth individuals. The Prime Minister’s stance mirrors comments from Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones and other ministers, who insisted that tax decisions will be announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Budget. Reeves is bound by fiscal rules that require day-to-day spending to be financed without additional borrowing and debt to be falling as a share of GDP by 2029-30, constraints that economists say leave limited room to manoeuvre without additional taxation. Extending the current threshold freeze by a further two years to 2029-30 could bring in about £7 billion a year, according to Office for Budget Responsibility projections, while a 2 percent levy on assets above £10 million—an option floated publicly by former Labour leader Neil Kinnock—has been estimated to raise £10-11 billion. The government is also contending with an estimated £5-6 billion hole in its finances after recent reversals on disability-benefit and winter-fuel policies, and must cover pay demands from striking doctors. Starmer told MPs that his administration “can’t tax our way to growth” but added that those with the “broadest shoulders should carry the largest burden.” Markets and business groups will now look to the Budget, expected in October, for clarity on whether high-income households will shoulder more of that burden through a wealth tax, continued fiscal drag or other measures.