LONDON: British finance minister Rishi Sunak is considering a sweeping set of tax increases to help fix the huge hole in the public finances left by the COVID-19 pandemic, two newspapers said.
Britain's public debt has passed 2 trillion pounds , pushed up by emergency spending on Sunak's coronavirus job retention scheme, tax cuts for businesses and consumers and even a dining-out subsidy to coax people back into restaurants.But he is under pressure to provide more support for employers when the job retention scheme - under which the state has paid 80 per cent of salaries for most workers kept on in their jobs - expires at the end of October.
The Sunday Times said Sunak was considering a proposal to boost the corporation tax rate to 24 per cent from 19 per cent to raise £12 billion next year, rising to 17 billion in 2023-24. Britain's economy shrank by a record 20 per cent in the second quarter, the largest decline of any big country. There have been signs of a bounce-back but unemployment is expected to rise sharply as the job retention scheme is wound down.
Finance Finance Latest News, Finance Finance Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »