Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is to set out tax rises and spending cuts totalling £60bn in his Autumn statement, according to new reports.
The Chancellor’s current plan includes budget cuts totalling at least £35bn and tax rises of up to £25bn, newspapers the Guardian and the Telegraph reported on Sunday.
Mr Hunt and new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has been in power for just over a week, are trying to find ways to cut spending and increase revenue to plug a budget hole worsened by Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss’s debt-fuelled economic plans.
Early drafts of Mr Hunt’s Autumn statement - to be delivered on November 17 - suggest tax rises are likely to include freezing income tax thresholds and targeting dividend tax relief, said the Guardian.
Citing a Whitehall source, the newspaper said the figures remained estimates and subject to change but that Mr Hunt had told an all-staff meeting that he was looking for at least £50bn to £60bn worth of measures.
It said decisions on whether to raise benefits in line with inflation or to change the pensions “triple lock” are likely to be taken within days, so that the independent Office for Budget Responsibility can factor any such changes into its forecasts.
Responding to a request for comment made by news agency Reuters, the Treasury said it does not comment on speculation around fiscal events.
