Voters called on Ed Balls to come clean about Labour ’ s plans for higher taxes yesterday . Members of the public rounded on the Shadow Chancellor on live TV as he suggested Britain ’ s budget deficit could be filled by taxes on the rich – and refused to apologise for the economic crash . Mr Balls – who will today rule out a rise in VAT – was accused of ‘ tinkering round the edges ’ when he suggested that Britain ’ s problems could be solved by reinstating the 50p tax for top earners and bringing in a Mansion Tax . Scroll down for video . Voters called on Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls to come clean about Labour ’ s plans for higher taxes . Ed Miliband yesterday all-but guaranteed Mr Balls the Chancellor ’ s job if Labour win the election . He was accused of ‘ tinkering round the edges ’ after suggested that Britain ’ s problems could be solved by reinstating the 50p tax for top earners . But Mr Balls was forced on to the defensive while taking questions from a studio audience on Sky News . One member of the public called on him to apologise for crashing the economy . Another called on him to come clean about his plans for the economy , describing his plans for taxes on the rich as ‘ tinkering around the edges ’ and asking him : ‘ When are you going to do the big stuff ? ’ And he came under fire over the Mansion Tax , with voters asking why a tax levied almost exclusively on homes in the south east of England would be used to pay for more nurses in Scotland . Mr Balls will attempt to get on to the front foot today by ruling out a rise in VAT if Labour seize power in May . Members of the public rounded on the Shadow Chancellor on live TV as he suggested Britain ’ s budget deficit could be filled by taxes on the rich . In a speech in Birmingham today , Mr Balls will make a ‘ clear pledge ’ that Labour will not raise VAT from its current level of 20 per cent . He will say : ‘ We will not put up VAT . And we will not extend it to food , children ’ s clothes , books , newspapers and public transport fares . ‘ We will not raise VAT because it ’ s the tax that hits everyone . It ’ s the tax that hits you every day . And it hits pensioners and the poorest hardest. ’ But Labour last night refused to rule out raising other major taxes , such as income tax and national insurance . Tory sources said that , with Mr Balls apparently committed to a further £30 billion of deficit reduction , further tax rises under Labour were inevitable . A party spokesman said : ‘ Labour have let the cat out of the bag . Ed Balls is confirming his real plan – big hikes in the jobs tax or tax on hard work . ‘ Labour have already announced a raft of tax rises , but all but one of these would fund their spending pledges . Ed Miliband and Ed Balls have repeatedly said they will raise taxes . It is time that they came clean with the British public about which taxes they will raise – income tax or national insurance ? ’ Mr Balls refused to apologise for leaving Britain with one of the biggest budget deficits in the developed world when it left office . He apologised for Labour ’ s failure to regulate the banks – but said others had also failed to spot the looming dangers . Ed Miliband ( right ) yesterday all-but guaranteed Mr Balls ( left ) the Chancellor ’ s job if Labour win the election . Mr Balls said : ‘ We should have been tougher ( on the banks ) . I ’ m sorry about that . Actually , my opponent George Osborne continually criticised me because he said I was being too tough on the banks . He was wrong too. ’ He said that Labour had started to reduce the deficit when it left office – a claim that is contradicted by the facts . And he said that raising the top rate of tax from 45p to 50p would raise £3 billion , despite analysis by the Treasury and HMRC which suggests it would raise almost nothing . George Osborne , who was also quizzed by voters on Sky , acknowledged that there was ‘ a lot more work ’ required to repair Britain ’ s public finances after five years in power . The Chancellor also admitted that continuing low interest rates were a problem for savers saying that was the reason he had made a cut in the savings tax the centrepiece of his Budget last week . Mr Osborne was challenged over Tory plans to hold an In/Out referendum on Europe , but insisted it was not deterring business investment . ‘ I think we ’ ll achieve that reform , we will get a better deal for Britain in Europe , ’ he said . ‘ It ’ s not damaging business now because we are getting more investment in to Britain than any other European country . ‘ So businesses are still voting with their jobs and their investment in to the UK . ’
Mr Balls , who will today rule out a rise in VAT , was accused of 'tinkering ' He had suggested Britain ’ s budget deficit could be filled by taxes on rich . Was forced on to the defensive taking questions from Sky News audience . One member of the public called on him to apologise for crashing economy . Ed Miliband has all-but guaranteed him Chancellor ’ s job if Labour win election .