"A senior official at the UK's economic forecaster has said he does not believe the chancellor was being misleading when she said the state of the public finances were "very challenging" in the run-up to the Budget. Prof David Miles from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) told MPs Rachel Reeves's comments ahead of announcing her tax and spending plans were "not inconsistent" with the situation she faced."
"Last week's Budget included a total 26bn of tax rises, with 8bn set to be raised by extending the freeze on income tax and National Insurance thresholds for a further three years. The two-child benefit cap was also scrapped. In the build-up to the Budget, Reeves repeatedly talked about a downgrade to the UK's predicted economic productivity that would make it hard for her to meet her borrowing rules, fuelling speculation that the income tax rates themselves would be raised,"
Prof David Miles of the Office for Budget Responsibility said the chancellor's description of public finances as "very challenging" and her pre-Budget comments were not inconsistent with the fiscal situation she faced. He noted that, despite economic forecasts being better than widely thought, the chancellor still confronted a very difficult Budget and hard choices. The OBR raised concerns with Treasury officials about media leaks in the run-up to the Budget. The Budget included a total 26bn of tax rises, including 8bn from extending frozen income tax and National Insurance thresholds, and the two-child benefit cap was scrapped. Reeves warned that weaker productivity would lower tax receipts and complicate borrowing-rule compliance.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]