United kingdom. Economy Minister admits raising taxes

Britain’s Economy Minister Jeremy Hunt acknowledged on Sunday that all taxpayers must “pay more tax” to respond to the current economic crisis facing the UK.

The Conservative minister presented to the media, without going into details, the plan that he will announce on the 17th, in the House of Commons, to respond to the crisis and debt.

“I’m afraid we will all pay more taxes, but it’s not just bad news. I think what people are realizing is that if you want to give them confidence about the future, you have to be honest about the present. If you have a plan,” Hunt told Sky News.

The British minister said this would be a plan to help reduce inflation, control rising energy prices and restore growth.

The minister, who replaced Kwasi Koarting as head of the economy portfolio on October 14, stressed that the government had to take “very difficult decisions”, but defended that the country was “resisting” and facing “much greater challenges”.

“The plan that I will present to the House of Commons on Thursday will be a plan that will help us get through these difficult times,” he added.

Upon taking office, Hunt reversed former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s economic plan, which had caused turmoil in financial markets.

Ten days ago, the Bank of England announced it would raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage points to 3%, the highest level since 2008, to help curb inflation.

According to the bank, the UK may be on course for a prolonged recession, although it expects inflation to drop significantly from mid-2023 onwards.

According to central bank calculations, inflation could reach 11% by the end of this year, while unemployment in the UK could stabilize at 6.4% by the end of 2025, compared to 3.5% currently.