LONDON —
The
UK government on Sunday warned of impending tax hikes, especially for the
wealthy, as it bids to repair economic havoc wrought by Liz Truss’s short-lived
tenure as prime minister.
اضافة اعلان
Truss’ successor
Rishi Sunak, who was heading to a
G20 economic summit in Indonesia, has vowed
to get soaring inflation under control even if it means more pain for
hard-pressed consumers and businesses.
His finance
minister, Jeremy Hunt, told Sky News that the pain would fall
disproportionately on the better off when he unveils an emergency budget
statement on Thursday.
“We’re all going to
be paying a bit more tax, I’m afraid,” he said, while refusing to be drawn into
detail on the plan, after a tax-cutting budget by Truss caused panic on
financial markets.
Hunt conceded that
the UK economy was already likely in recession after a contraction in the
July-September quarter, “but we are a resilient country and we’ve faced much
bigger challenges, frankly, in our history”.
“We will be asking
everyone for sacrifices,” the chancellor of the exchequer stressed.
“But I think in a
fair society, as we are in the UK, we need to recognize that there’s only so
much you can ask from people on the very lowest incomes, so that will be
reflected in the decisions that I take.”
Hunt is reportedly
looking at changing income tax brackets, to raise more revenue from high
earners, and impose strict curbs on government spending for years to come even
as inflation hits double digits.
He is seeking up to
£60 billion in savings and extra revenue — half of which was left by a budget
black hole bequeathed by Truss, according to the Resolution Foundation, a think
tank.
“We do have to do
some tax rises, do some spending cuts, if we’re going to show that we’re a
country that pays our way,” Hunt said, insisting his policies would make any
recession “shallower and quicker”.
‘Badge of shame’
Hunt said the surge in energy prices linked to the war in Ukraine amounted
to an economic hit of £140 billion.
“It’s like the
economy supporting an entire second NHS (
National Health Service),” the
chancellor said.
Asked if the NHS
was on the brink of collapse after the COVID-19 pandemic, Hunt acknowledged
“massive pressures” in the service and “unbearable pressure” for doctors and
nurses.
But he rejected a
17-percent pay claim lodged by Britain’s main nursing union, which last week
voted to go on strike for the first time in its 106-year history.
“We have to
recognize a difficult truth that if we gave everyone inflation-proof pay rises,
inflation would stay,” he said.
Ahead of Hunt’s
budget, the opposition Labour party accused the government of leaving public services
such as the NHS “on their knees” after 12 years of Conservative rule.
Labour’s finance
spokeswoman Rachel Reeves told Sky that “austerity 2.0” was not the right way
forward in this week’s budget, calling it a “badge of shame” that the nurses
felt compelled to go on strike.
Tens of thousands
of staff in various industries — from the postal and legal systems to ports and
telecommunications — have already gone on strike across Britain since the
summer to press for higher pay.
Hunt was also
challenged about growing evidence that Britain’s exit from the EU is causing
long-term harm, with comparable economies recovering much faster from the
pandemic.
“I don’t deny there are costs to a decision like
Brexit, but there are also opportunities, and you have to see it in the round,”
said Hunt, who voted in 2016 to stay in the EU.
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