Taxing times: banks are the golden goose that won't hiss too much

With a rise in VAT, national insurance and income tax off limits, the Treasury has picked up on the idea that the financial sector is under-taxed

Solemn commitments have been made. David Cameron and Ed Miliband have wrung promises out of each other. The tax arms race has escalated to the point where the options available to Labour and the Conservatives for raising extra revenue are narrowing.

Yet, taxes are still likely to go up once the election is over. Traditionally, political parties that say "they have no plans" to raise taxes before polling day find a compelling reason to do so as soon as voters have made their choice. As the Institute for Fiscal Studies has noted, if a government is going to raise taxes, it does so in the first budget after a general election.