Nothing more Tax cuts for the rich in Britain: The measure, in perfect Conservative sauce and a Thatcherian matrix, has roiled markets and plunged the pound into crisis, so much so that the government Liz Truss is forced into a hasty reversal.
Dietrofront
That Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng confirms that the government will not lower the maximum rate of 45 percent. “We will not pursue our plan to abolish the tax rate 45%. It has now become a distraction from our mission to accomplish the challenges we face. We understood the lesson, we listened to it,” Kwarteng wrote on Twitter.
“We are 100 percent focused on the growth plan,” the Chancellor explained to the BBC. Markets did not like Truss’ fiscal plan and for the past week the pound has hit record lows against the dollar.
The Chancellor announced the opposite on Twitter this morning. Then, in a BBC interview on whether he wanted to resign, he firmly ruled out that possibility. Liz Truss, who took office in early September, and her Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced on September 23 a massive family support energy package, accompanied by massive tax cuts. The top income tax cut, which would have been cut from 45% to 40%, has been the subject of bitter controversy as it is accused of favoring the wealthiest amid the kingdom’s cost-of-living crisis.
Other tax cuts
Further tax cuts were also announced, including the elimination of corporate tax and social security increases and the suspension of environmental taxes. The whole plan is estimated by economists at between £100 billion and £200 billion whose financing and economic impact have not been fully quantified, has caused turmoil in the financial markets. The pound has fallen to historic lows and UK government debt rates have risen to their highest levels since the 2009 crisis, threatening the country’s financial stability. The Bank of England intervened last week to stabilize interest rates, which threatened to bankrupt pension funds.