Rachel Reeves is considering introducing national insurance for employer pension contributions as a way to increase revenue for the budget.
Treasury officials are considering the possibility of a levy, with experts saying it could raise up to £17bn for the Exchequer.
Labor's manifesto includes a pledge not to raise national insurance as part of “tax cuts for working people”, and government officials said on Wednesday that this pledge would apply to working people, not businesses. .
A Treasury source hinted that a levy was being considered, saying: “The promises in the manifesto were clear and were about protecting working people's incomes.”
Pension taxation has been identified as a key reform target in Labour's first Budget on October 30. Mr. Reeves is looking for ways to raise revenue without raising taxes on working families or cutting public services.
Liberal Democrat former pensions minister Steve Webb said the politically least difficult way forward would be to claw back some of the £49bn of tax breaks given to pensions each year.
Mr Webb, a consultant at Lane, Clark & Peacock, said the policy was “simple and could raise meaningful amounts of money in the billions of dollars, so for all these reasons I think they would seriously consider it.'' ” he said. There's a lot to see. ”
He said the measure would not affect people's pay and, unlike other potential measures, should not hit public sector workers.
“This is a tax on employers, and even though that money is coming from somewhere, it's not immediately obvious to voters what you've done,” he said. “They can do it gradually and if it goes well, they can ramp it up even more.”
This was revealed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). In a report earlier this week It argued that it would be wise to move towards imposing employer pension contributions on employers' NICs, even though Labour's manifesto commitments might make this difficult.
The think tank estimated that about £17bn a year could be raised if employer NICs were introduced into pension contributions at a rate of 13.8%.
In a report last month, the Resolution Foundation said of the measure: Potential to raise £12bn a year After reimbursing public sector employers for additional costs.
Keir Starmer twice refused to rule out changes to employer national insurance payments at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. In response to a question from opposition leader Rishi Sunak, Mr Starmer hinted that his manifesto promise not to raise National Insurance would only apply to employee payments.
“We have made an absolute commitment not to raise taxes on working people,” Starmer told the House of Commons.
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The prime minister, who was once again pursued, added: “We have set out commitments in our manifesto. We have been returned with a huge majority to change our country for the better and I will keep the commitments I made in my manifesto.”
Mr Sunak told the House of Commons: “He has clearly paved the way for increasing employer national insurance contributions, including pensions, and manipulating the numbers so they can borrow more.”
The IFS report says that the current pension tax system “provides overly generous tax breaks to those on the highest pensions, those with high retirement income, and those in receipt of high employer pension contributions.” “There is plenty of room for reform.”
Asked if the government intended to rule out increases in national insurance contributions for employers across the board, Mr Starmer's spokesman said: “When it comes to tax, we have nothing to add beyond what's in the manifesto.'' “It's clear that we will secure the tax money,” he told reporters. Taxes on working people will be kept as low as possible, and taxes on working people will not be raised, so national insurance, income tax and value added tax will not be raised. ”
Reports this week said Mr. Reeves has chosen not to increase taxes on pension contributions.
