Liz Truss has vowed to “start cutting taxes from day one” if she succeeds Boris Johnson as prime minister.
Confirming she is entering the leadership race, the foreign secretary said she would reverse the national insurance increase brought in by Richi Sunak - one of her main rivals for the top job - if she enters Number 10.
Truss also pledged to “keep corporation tax competitive so we can attract business and investment into Britain”.
The rate if due to go up from 19 per cent to 25 per cent from next year.
Truss’s announcement makes her tenth MP to throw their hat into the ring, with most of them promising to reduce the tax burden if they emerge victorious.
Writing in The Telegraph, she said: “Under my leadership, I would start cutting taxes from day one to take immediate action to help people deal with the cost of living.
“I would reverse the national insurance increase that came in during April, make sure we keep corporation tax competitive so we can attract business and investment into Britain, and put the Covid debt on a longer-term footing.”
Trying to emphasise her Brexiteer credentials, Truss - who voted Remain in the 2016 referendum - said she had “led the way” in making the most of Britain’s “new-found freedoms” outside the EU.
But she added: “We can go further, whether it is doing more to champion innovation or charting our own course on regulation.”
Truss joins Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid, Suella Braverman, Penny Mordaunt, Jeremy Hunt, Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, Grant Shapps and Nadhim Zahawi in entering the leadership race.
Home secretary Priti Patel is also expected to throw her hat into the ring.
The 1922 backbench committee of Tory backbenchers will meet tomorrow to decide the rules for the race and the timetable.