Britain’s chancellor offers tax cuts and fiscal trickery
A pre-election giveaway from Jeremy Hunt
Delivering his autumn statement on November 22nd, Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor of the exchequer (pictured), argued that Britain’s economy has turned a corner. Declaring victory in the battle against inflation, he unveiled a fiscal loosening worth £18bn ($22.5bn), or 0.7% of GDP, mostly comprising cuts to business and personal taxation. According to Mr Hunt lower inflation has given him the space to cut taxes. In reality that space has come from higher, not lower, inflation and from some questionable accounting.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Tax cuts and fiscal trickery”
Britain November 25th 2023
- Britain’s chancellor offers tax cuts and fiscal trickery
- Jeremy Hunt wants to improve Britain’s public-sector productivity
- The government tries to unlock growth capital for British firms
- The world’s first pathway for individually designed drugs
- The National Health Service has a new drugs deal
- Is Britain’s plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda salvageable?
- Britain’s native farm animals can be rarer than giant pandas
- What kind of legacy does Rishi Sunak want to leave behind?
From the November 25th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
A new paper examines how its culture has changed
A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition
Turkeys vote against Christmas
David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office
Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration
Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses
Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not
Labour’s credibility trap
Who can believe Rachel Reeves?