Tory MPs are nervous about any increase in corporation tax, in particular, because increasing it to 24 per cent would parrot Labour’s tax policy.
Stephen Barclay, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, refused to rule out rises and insisted such issues were a matter for the Budget.
He told Times Radio: “There is always four moving parts to this. The key objective within the Treasury is to get growth.
“There is then a balance between the other three moving parts of debt, of spending, spending feeding into that, and tax.
“And what’s your trade-off then between your spending measures and your tax measures.”
Some experts warned that such a move would be seen as “sea change” in tax policy and send a signal that the UK was “closed for business”.
Chris Sanger, head of UK tax policy at accountants EY, said: “The UK has been on a long journey to reduce its corporation rate, which is seen by many businesses as an indicator of how competitive a country wants to be. The UK has prided itself on having the lowest corporate tax rate of any G20 country.
“The Saudis have a rate of 20pc so it will stop them claiming that and be seen as a sea change in tax policy.”
Matthew Lesh, head of research at Adam Smith Institute, also called on the Government to “get its own house in order” by cutting spending before tax hikes.
He said: “Higher corporate taxes would mean less investment, fewer jobs, lower wages and higher prices.
“Cutting corporation tax made Britain one of the best places in the world to invest and supported the pre-Covid jobs boom. A hike in corporate tax rates would send a pretty clear message: Britain is closed for business.”