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I nearly forgot, increasing CGT to fall in line with income tax.So many ways to fund a reduction in income tax, or improve services and life quality. Who runs this country after all?
BFYPThe problem is that we simultaneously have a)The highest taxes as a proportion of GDP since the War and b) desperately underfunded public services.That's quite an achievement by this rank excuse for a Government.
The effect of the Child Benefit and NI decisions today.A family with two kids and one earner on the minimum wage will benefit by £2.30 per week.A family with two kids and one earner on £60k will benefit by £53 per week.But the far, far bigger issue is how Hunt is paying for this. He's making huge real terms cuts in Govt spending, at a time when public services are collapsing around us. Total Govt Department spending is going up by 0.3%, while inflation is over 4%. NHS funding is rising by less than inflation. Defence funding is being cut in cash terms, even before allowing for inflation. And there are HUGE cash terms cuts in Transport, Levelling-Up (yeah...I know...), DEFRA & Business and Trade.Those cuts are simply not viable. Hunt has deliberately done this to queer the pitch for the next Government. Labour will have to reverse the tax cuts or it won't be able to increase public spending. They've been like this from start to finish. Zero vision for the country beyond trying to stay in power.
I read an economist on Twitter at the weekend saying: Watch how journalists fall for this Budget. They'll allow Hunt to say he's cutting taxes to grow the economy and will ask him nothing on how public spending will be cut to balance the books. Then they'll ask Labour "Will you reverse these tax rises or cut your planned spending policies."I've just heard a journalist on R4 doing PRECISELY that. It's awful, lazy journalism. Doing the Govt's job for them without even realising what they are doing.