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UK finance minister Hunt warns some taxes will rise as difficult decisions loom
Britain’s new finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Saturday (Oct 15) that some taxes will go up and government spending will rise by less than previously planned as difficult decisions will have to be taken to restore Britain’s fiscal credibility.
“We will have some very difficult decisions ahead,” Hunt, appointed on Friday (Oct 14) after Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked in the fallout of a disastrous fiscal statement last month, said.
He told Sky News: “Spending will not rise by as much as people would like to all government departments are going to have to find more efficiencies than they were planning to. And some taxes will not be cut as quickly as people want, and some taxes will go up. So it’s going to be difficult.”
British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday (Oct 14) scrapped another key tax-cutting policy after firing her finance minister, in a bid to placate markets after the government’s controversial “mini-budget.”
“It is clear that parts of our mini-budget went further and faster than markets were expecting,” Truss said in a brief press conference.
Truss scrapped the pledge to reverse predecessor Boris Johnson’s hike of corporation tax from 19% to 25%, a decision estimated to restore around £18 billion ($20.1 billion) to the U.K. Treasury’s coffers by 2026.
UK PM Liz Truss under pressure to ditch economic plan
Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng was fired earlier on Friday after less than six weeks in the job, amid mounting political pressure and market chaos.
Jeremy Hunt — a former health secretary and foreign secretary — was announced as Kwarteng’s successor. Chris Philp, chief secretary to the U.K. Treasury, was also replaced by Edward Argar.
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