Leading British economic think tank thinks there’s a ‘weak’ case for tax cuts in next week’s budget

By PAN PYLAS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A leading British think tank that specializes in the state of the country’s public finances thinks there’s a “weak economic case” for tax cuts in next week’s budget, which the Conservative government is hoping can lift its prospects ahead of the general election this year. With the Conservatives trailing the main opposition Labour Party heavily in opinion polls, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Treasury chief, Jeremy Hunt, have been hinting that tax cuts, possibly on income, will be on the agenda. The problem, as identified by the Institute for Fiscal Studies on Tuesday, is that the public finances are not healthy enough for tax cuts in an economy in recession.