Rachel Reeves has been urged to ditch her manifesto promise and hike income tax, national insurance or VAT this autumn. The Institute for Government (IfG) is the second think tank this week to call on the Chancellor to break her pledge and hit the middle classes with tax rises. It suggested she cut national insurance by 2p, and match it with a 2p rise in income tax. The think tank argued that the switch would raise £6 billion and help tackle ‘unfairness’ in the tax system, as income tax is paid by more people including pensioners and landlords. The Government has repeatedly said it will not increase the rates of VAT, income tax or national insurance at the Budget in November.