Kemi Badenoch has been criticised after saying a flat rate of income tax for everyone in the country is an “attractive idea”.
Labour accused the Tory leader of being “a reverse Robin Hood” because the policy would mean “massive” tax cuts for the rich.
They also compared her to former Tory prime minister Liz Truss, who was forced from office after her plans for huge unfunded tax cuts caused economic chaos.
Under the current tax system, workers pay higher rates of income tax as their salaries increase.
Appearing at an event on Monday, Badenoch was asked is she supported replacing that with a flat tax rate, with everyone paying the same regardless of their income.
She replied: “It’s very attractive but if we’re going to get to that sort of scenario there’s a lot of work we will need to do first.
“We cannot afford flat taxes where we are now. We need to make sure we rewire our economy so that we can lighten the burden of tax and of regulation on individuals, and on those businesses that are just starting out in particular.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “Kemi’s reverse Robin Hood would mean massive tax cuts for the rich, paid for by everyone else.
“While Labour protects working people with no tax rises on their payslips, the Tories are bringing out the ghost of Christmas past with these Truss-style tax cuts for millionaires.
“They haven’t listened and they haven’t learnt.”
At the same event on Monday, Badenoch also suggested that the UK’s regulatory standards were too high - but that she supported them.
She said: “Where we continue regulating ourselves at very high standards – which we should do – but in a way that other countries don’t follow, which puts us at a disadvantage, which means that there’s no level of playing field if you’re a farmer, for example, and many others. And we need to start thinking differently.”
A senior Labour source told HuffPost UK: “I don’t get how anyone could follow each clause of that sentence and have a clue what she is suggesting.”