Tax & Spend
UK’s Hunt Has No Money For a Pre-Election Giveaway, NIESR Says
- Weak growth means tax increases needed to meet fiscal rules
- Levelling-Up failed as UK regions fall further behind London
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt will need to raise taxes to meet his fiscal rules as weak growth and sticky inflation punch a hole in the public finances, according to new research.
The analysis by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research will make disappointing reading for Hunt, who has signalled he wants to cut property and payroll taxes to give the ruling Conservatives a boost ahead of a general election that opinion polls suggest the party is on course to lose.