Brown's NHS tax rise ploy

A CONTROVERSIAL blueprint for the future of the National Health Service is to be published immediately before next month's Budget in an attempt to bolster support for tax rises.

The keenly awaited report, drawn up by former NatWest bank chief Derek Wanless, will be launched with great fanfare on the eve of Chancellor Gordon Brown's 17 April Budget.

In recent weeks, Brown, along with Tony Blair and Health Secretary Alan Milburn, has used a series of public pronouncements to soften up the electorate for tax increases. It is thought that the most likely tax rise will be an increase in National Insurance contributions, with the full pain of the extra burden deferred until 2003.

An increase in VAT is rumoured to be a second possible source of extra revenue. Experts suspect that Brown may also revive the practice of moving indirect tax rates up and down to help avoid boom and bust.