Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to cut wasteful Government spending before raising taxes.
Mr Cameron's comments came during a whistle-stop tour of a sprawling jet engine maintenance facility run by GE Avionics outside Cardiff - his first visit to Wales since taking over at 10 Downing Street.
Mr Cameron finished off his tour of the complex by holding a question and answer session with workers and repeatedly returned to the theme of cutting waste.
Asked specifically about plans for VAT, he said every area of government would be looked at for potential savings before thinking of raising taxes.
He added: "We have got to try and cut out waste in terms of the government. We are going to go through each government department, whether it is the Home Office or whatever.
"I accept that we have got to make some difficult decisions as well. But we have only been at it for a few days. I am not saying that there will not be difficult decisions, there will be, but let us start with cutting out waste."
He went on to list civil servant bonuses and cash spent by the government on consultants' fees as areas of waste where cuts could be made.
