Tax Cuts Not in UK Chancellor of Exchequer's Plans for Spring Budget, Reports Suggest

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt does not intend to include tax cuts in the spring budget that will be announced on March 15, in attempts to restore public trust in the government, British media reported on Wednesday, citing senior Treasury sources.

Hunt plans to introduce a "slimmed down" spring budget, despite the Conservative Party’s pressure for tax cuts and calls for increased public spending, the report said.

The government's top priorities currently include boosting economic growth, bringing down inflation and reducing national debt, while tax cuts will only be possible once confidence among businesses and the public is restored, sources told British press.

"It [tax cuts] wouldn’t be responsible. Our focus is wholly on steadying the economy and, with that, repairing our economic reputation," one source was quoted as saying.

The report noted that the Conservatives lost the public's trust and economic credibility after the damage inflicted by the administration of ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss. Truss, elected in September 2022 to replace former UK Prime Boris Johnson, spent only 44 days in office. On October 20, she announced her resignation due to mounting criticism over the government's economic plan and the possibility of increasing public debt for its implementation.

Millions of households across the United Kingdom were affected by the unfavorable economic situation, caused by rising inflation and economic recession, which is expected to last until the second half of 2024. According to the UK Office for National Statistics, the country's year-to-year inflation rate was 10.5% in December 2022.