Jeremy Hunt drops major tax cuts hint at Davos before March budget
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt dropped another major hint about March’s much-anticipated budget, saying the “only direction of travel” is for the UK to embrace low taxation.
Speaking at Davos in Switzerland, he said Britain should emulate other economies with low taxes, as the Conservatives gear up for an election later this year.
Hunt, who will deliver his Budget on 6 March, said low-tax countries were “more dynamic” and “more competitive”.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he said: “In terms of the direction of travel we look around the world and we note that the economies growing faster than us in North America and Asia tend to have lower taxes, and I believe fundamentally that low-tax economies are more dynamic, more competitive and generate more money for public services like the NHS.
“That’s the direction of travel we would like to go in but it is too early to say what we are going to do.”
This comes after Jeremy Hunt said he would call in the bosses of major banks next week, in a bid to address their sluggish share prices.
The chancellor has come under pressure in recent weeks as a series of economic data puts the dampeners on falling inflation.
This morning’s retail sales crash will add to economic woes facing the economy, led by a surprise rise in inflation and slowing wage growth earlier in the week.
Sectors such as recruitment and housebuilding have also acted as major indicators of a stagnant economy.
Politically, the Conservatives are predicted to experience a 1997-style wipe out at the forthcoming General Election, which Rishi Sunak suggested would be later in 2024.
Speaking at the event, alongside AI founder Sam Altman, Hunt said: “As a politician, I look at the big problems that we face.
“When we have the next pandemic, we don’t want to have to wait a year before we get the vaccine. If AI can shrink the time it takes to get that vaccine to a month, that is a massive step forward for humanity.”
He added: “At the moment in the UK, and I think most of the developed world, voters are very angry about their levels of tax.
“If AI can transform the way our public services are delivered, and lead to more productive public services with lower tax levels, that is a very big win.”