Office for Budget Responsibility chairman Richard Hughes and member of their Budget Responsibility Committee David Miles have appeared before the Treasury Committee this morning to talk about their views on the Autumn Statement. Hughes pointed out Hunt “hasn’t adjusted public spending plans“, with “pressure pushing up on spending and down on revenues“. A government planning to get debt falling in 5 years would find that objective “certainly at risk” in the current situation. As Guido pointed out last week, debt is rising in nominal terms, real terms, and as a percentage of GDP, despite Hunt’s jubilation at the Autumn Statment. A natural result of failing to control spending…
The OBR wasn’t keen on Hunt’s claim this is the largest tax cut since the ’80s and said that’s “not a figure we’ve used” and this is only the 3rd “fiscal loosening” event since the body’s foundation in 2010. The economists said frozen tax thresholds instead have an “unambiguously negative effect” on incentives, combined with an NI cut that is “swamped” by stealth tax rises. Sunak and Hunt were probably expecting more people to be distracted by the cuts than focus on their continuing massive tax grab…
