Hunt rips up most of mini-budget and scales back energy prices plan
Jeremy Hunt has effectively ripped up almost all of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget, scrapping virtually all the announced tax cuts and drastically scaling back the government’s flagship plan to cap rising energy prices.
In a televised statement before a full Commons statement on Monday afternoon Hunt, who was appointed as chancellor in place of the sacked Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday, said the only remaining tax cuts would be those already being put into place – the move to reverse the recent rise in national insurance, and a cut to stamp duty.
The plan to cut the basic rate of income tax by 1p to 19p in April 2023, a major part of the mini-budget, would be frozen indefinitely, Hunt said, arguing that ministers still wanted to cut taxes.
He added: “But at a time when markets are rightly demanding commitment to sustainable public finances, it is not right to borrow to fund this tax cut,” he said.
The other tax cuts announced by Kwarteng, to dividend taxes, payrolls, a new VAT-free shopping scheme, and a freeze on some alcohol duties, would be scrapped, he said.
Even more significantly, in an attempt to claw back spending as well as boosting revenue, Hunt also announced that the government’s scheme to cap energy prices for two years, costing around £80bn, would only be universal up to April, being targeted after that at poorer households.
In a message that further undermines Truss’s political position, Hunt almost completely disowned the mini-budget, saying he and the government had “listened to concerns”.
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Hunt said the tax changes, intended to bring “confidence and stability”, would save around £32bn
Read more on theguardian.com
