Talks are underway to reduce the rate at which income tax relief is applied to Britain’s higher-rate taxpayers from 40 pence to as low as 20 pence, according to the Telegraph. Increasing the number of very high earners whose income relief is cut further is another option being considered, the report said.

The total cost of pension tax relief to the Exchequer is £42.7 billion (US$48.6 billion), of which £22.9 billion is relief on income tax. A flat rate of 20% would raise between £8 billion to £10 billion a year, according to a report by the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association.

It marks the resurrection of a plan first pitched by former chancellor George Osborne in 2016, which was abandoned by the Conservative Party. The Telegraph last week reported that Osborne had been approached by Hunt for advice on how to handle Britain’s economy.

Today’s report comes after a separate story published on Saturday which said the lifetime allowance for pension savings – the maximum you can draw from retirement funds in your lifetime without paying extra tax – is set to be frozen for another two years. The move would mean two million savers facing charges of up to 55% on their pension fund by the end of that period.

Tory MP Oliver Dowden was asked about the Telegraph’s story on Sky News this morning. Dowden said “some of it is correct, some of it is incorrect”, adding that there will be “difficult” decisions to make in the chancellor’s Autumn Statement on Nov 17.