Labour will keep the basic rate of income tax at 20p for the whole of the next Parliament if it wins the General Election on May 6, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has indicated.
The promise is expected to be a key pledge in Labour's manifesto, expected to be approved by the party's National Executive Committee on Thursday for publication next week.
Labour's decision to rule out increases in the main income tax rate will inevitably put pressure on Conservatives and Liberal Democrats over whether they too can make similar promises at a time when all parties agree that Britain must rein in its massive state deficit.
In an interview with Channel 4 News, Mr Brown said: "The income tax rate has come down from 23p to 20p and we have kept it a 20p and that is what we will pledge to do in our manifesto."
Labour pledged at each of the last three elections not to increase income tax rates, but was accused of breaking its promise when it introduced a new 50p top rate on high-earners which came into effect this week.
Mr Brown told Channel 4 News: "We had to raise the top rate of tax because we had a situation where people thought the situation in the country was quite unfair. We didn't want to do so, but we had to raise money to pay for our public services."
Asked if Labour would repeat the same promises in tax seen at previous elections, he said: "You'll see our pledges when we've made them and they'll be pretty clear."
