One way Labour hopes to address the budget deficit, which is due to stand at £78bn by the 2015 election, is through the 50p tax rate. It is not clear how much, if anything, it will raise. Mr Balls said George Osborne had left Labour to "finish the job". "We must make sure the sums add up. We cannot and will not duck the hard choices ahead," he said. "Without fiscal discipline and a credible commitment to eliminate the deficit, we cannot achieve the stability we need."