The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said that they are urging the Chancellor not to announce tax cuts at next week’s Spring Budget, unless Jeremy Hunt can demonstrate how he will pay for this.
The Conservative Party are putting Hunt under pressure to cut taxes ahead of the next general election.
On Tuesday the IFS warned that under Hunts proposed plans to deliver tax cut public services will be left unprotected.
Martin Miklos, research economist at the IFS, said, “In November’s autumn statement, the Chancellor ignored the impacts of higher inflation on public service budgets and instead used additional tax revenues to fund eye-catching tax cuts.
“At next week’s Budget, he might be tempted to try a similar trick, this time banking the higher revenues that come from a larger population while ignoring the additional pressures that a larger population will place on the NHS, local government and other services.
“He might even be tempted to cut back provisional spending plans for the next Parliament further to create additional space for tax cuts.
“The Chancellor should resist this temptation. Until the Government is willing to provide more detail on its spending plans in a spending review, it should refrain from providing detail on tax cuts.”
