China News Agency, Beijing, November 18th, London News: British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced the Autumn Budget in Parliament on the 17th, saying that in order to ensure economic stability, the British government will increase taxes and reduce fiscal expenditures in the next few years. .
According to Reuters, BBC and other media reports, Hunter cited data from the UK Office for Budget Responsibility that day that the average inflation rate in the UK in 2022 will be 9.1%.
He also pointed out that the British economy has fallen into recession, and the gross domestic product (GDP) may fall by 1.4% in 2023, and the British people face the largest decline in living standards on record.
Hunter proposed tax increases and spending cuts totaling 55 billion pounds (about 65.04 billion U.S. dollars).
The UK government has increased the windfall tax for oil and gas companies to 35% from the previous 25% and extended it until 2028.
From January 1 next year, the government will impose a temporary 45% tax on power companies.
The average UK household's energy bill will rise to £3,000 a year.
At the same time, the British government will increase the annual budget of the National Health Service System (NHS) by 2.3 billion pounds in the next two years, and the annual school expenditure budget by 2.3 billion pounds.
In the next five years, the UK's foreign aid spending will be lower than the government's original target.
Hunter believes that a series of measures will help curb the current high inflation.
The British government will give itself five years to meet its debt and spending targets.
The Office for Budget Responsibility also forecasts that UK GDP could grow by 1.3% in 2024 and 2.6% in 2025.
UK stocks and sterling fell against the dollar after Hunter announced his autumn budget.
There is a view that the government's tax increases and spending cuts may not help the economy out of recession.
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