INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The British government has dropped plans to cut income tax for top earners, part of a package of unfunded cuts that sparked turmoil on
financial markets and sent the pound to record lows.In a dramatic about-face, Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng said Monday that he would
announced 10 days ago.It also came hours after the Conservatives released advance extracts of a speech Kwarteng is due to give later Monday
end years of sluggish growth
23 announcement of a stimulus package that includes 45 billion pounds ($50 billion) in tax cuts, to be paid for by government borrowing,
sent the pound tumbling to a record low against the dollar.The Bank of England was forced to intervene to prop up the bond market, and fears
that the bank will soon hike interest rates caused mortgage lenders to withdraw their cheapest deals, causing turmoil for homebuyers.The
cuts were unpopular, even among Conservatives
bills was widely seen as politically toxic.Truss and Kwarteng insist that their plan will deliver a growing economy and eventually bring in
more tax revenue, offsetting the cost of borrowing to fund the current cuts
But they also have signaled that public spending will need to be slashed.Kwarteng said the government was sticking to its other tax
policies, including a cut next year in the basic rate of income tax and a reversal of a corporation tax hike planned by the previous
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://adaderana.lk
