Times-Hunt: Little Room For Tax Cuts In Budget

Steven Swinford at The Times posts on X: "[Chancellor] Jeremy Hunt warned Cabinet that tax cuts in Spring budget may be smaller than expected. ‘We are not likely to have as much room for tax cuts as we had in the Autumn,’ he said. He blamed ‘major structural weakness’ of low productivity Treasury projections suggest there is £14bn of headroom compared to £35bn at time of Autumn Statement. Ministers say political imperative is to go big but are concerned the fiscal constraints may not allow."

• The Times report comes after the IMF warned the UK gov't about engaging in significant tax cuts in the budget. The IMF "advised the UK against further tax cuts", as it launched its latest assessment of the world economy. The organisation claimed that supporting public services and fixed investment would mean greater gov't spending than was indicated in fiscal plans at present.
• There is pressure on Hunt and PM Rishi Sunak to engage in significant tax cuts.This is not only in an effort to boost the Conservatives' poor opinion polling numbers, but also on a broader ideological point for MPs from the centre-right party, who opposed the tax burden on individuals sitting around the highest levels in the post-war era.