Sunday 2 October 2022 12:09 AM Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget could cost £25billion - almost half of the ... trends now
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Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini Budget will add far less to the country’s deficit than his critics suggest, according to a leading think tank.
A hostile reaction to the Chancellor’s ambitious £45billion plan to cut taxes and boost economic growth has caused turmoil in financial markets.
But analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) suggests the real cost could be just £25billion – almost half the Government’s forecasts.
Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini Budget will add far less to the country’s deficit than his critics suggest, according to leading think tank Centre for Economics and Business Research
Abolishing the 45 per cent tax band for the highest earners, reintroducing VAT relief for international visitors – known as the ‘tourist shopping tax’ – and scrapping the planned corporation tax rise will stimulate economic growth and lift revenues more than anticipated, the think tank said.
Top earners in Scotland – where the highest rate of income tax will remain at 46 per cent – may be tempted to move south of the border after the Chancellor slashed the higher rate of tax, it added.
The number of highly paid individuals attracted to England from other countries could mean the measure is ‘at least self-financing’ compared with the Treasury’s forecasts indicating a £2billion loss.
Mr Kwarteng’s decision to not have his numbers checked by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) before they were announced spooked investors and caused havoc in currency and bond markets.
In another blow this weekend, Standard and Poor’s cut its outlook for the UK Government’s debt to
