The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has declined to rule out the introduction of a wealth tax when pressed by Tory MPs on future tax rises.

This comes after former Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock suggested a wealth tax could “commend” the Government to the general public, as he claimed Labour policies have been “obscured” by rows over welfare and winter fuel.

Darren Jones repeatedly told the Commons that any tax decisions would be set out by the Chancellor at the budget in the autumn.

During an urgent question on the Government’s fiscal rules, Conservative MP Neil O’Brien claimed speculation of a wealth tax would be enough to “drive investment away”.

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride pressed the Government on “how they intend to cover the £6 billion of unfunded commitments which their U-turns have run up in the last month alone”.

He added: “The Chancellor said at the budget she would not be coming back with more tax rises. Is this still the position?

“And will the Chief Secretary rule out a wealth tax, along with reconfirming that there will be no rise in income tax, national insurance or VAT?

“The Chancellor said she would not extend the freeze on tax thresholds because it would hurt working people. Is this still the position?

“And can the Chief Secretary confirm that the Chancellor will not be adding to her fiscal black hole by scrapping the two-child benefit cap?”

Mr Jones replied: “He asks me to comment on forecasts of annually managed expenditure. He’s asked me to comment on future tax decisions. He’s a man that knows how this works. All of that happens with a forecast and a budget, which will happen in the autumn.”

Mr O’Brien, MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, said: “If you tell business people and wealth creators that if they leave their money in this country, it’s going to get taxed, then you drive even more investors away.

“Isn’t it the case that even if this measure is not ultimately put in place, over the next couple of months the speculation about a wealth tax itself will drive investment away from this country?”

Mr Jones replied: “The Chancellor will set out any decisions on tax one way or the other at the budget, which she will do in the autumn.”

Conservative former Treasury minister John Glen urged the Government to consult with business leaders and conduct “a proper impact assessment of whichever taxes he is going to increase”.

Mr Jones said: “The Treasury engages with business leaders and investors all of the time, and the one thing they tell me is that they’re grateful this Government has brought back long-term, multi-year budgets, that they’ve got the fiscal rules, that they’re in place, that we’re reforming things like the planning system to make it easier to do business in this country.

“And as a consequence, business confidence is increasing under this Government, having dropped enormously under his government.”

Lord Kinnock, who led the party from 1983 to 1992, told Sky News there are things the party could do that “would commend themselves to the great majority of the general public” and that these included “asset taxes”.

“By going for an imposition of 2% on asset values above £10 million, say, which is a very big fortune, the Government would be in a position to collect £10 billion or £11 billion,” he said.