BBC：VAT可能降至15%

Enoch

变相涨工资了..

[每日电讯 11月22日 英文报道]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finan ... ergency-budget.html

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, is poised to announce a temporary cut in VAT, the first time such a measure has ever been taken in Britain, in an attempt to boost consumer spending.

Officials were still putting the finishing touches to the plan last night but by far the likeliest option was a drop in the main rate of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent, for at least a year, before a return to 17.5 per cent.

The move could save the average family as much as £10 a week.

A Government source said the dramatic move, which would cost around £12.5 billion in the first year, would "help everybody and help them quickly".

The VAT reduction will be the main plank of Mr Darling's "fiscal stimulus" to be announced in his pre-Budget report (PBR) tomorrow, the total cost of which is likely to be up to £20 billion.

The package will largely be funded by increased government borrowing which could soar to £150 billion in three years' time. Last night leading economists warned of large-scale tax rises in the future, after the next general election, to pay back the money borrowed to fund the tax cuts.


As well as the VAT plan, measures expected to be announced by Mr Darling in what is seen as the most important financial statement since Labour came to power in 1997 include:

    * Extending for at least another year the £2.7 billion rescue package for those who lost out from the abolition of the 10p starting rate of income tax.
    * Delaying, again for at least a year, planned above-inflation rises in Vehicle Excise Duty for older cars.
    * Help for home owners struggling to meet mortgage payments, who will get three months' grace before lenders begin repossession proceedings.
    * Aid for businesses, including relief from a tax on empty buildings, introduced earlier this year. There is also likely to be tax relief on dividends paid on profits earned abroad in an attempt to stop multinational companies relocating out of the UK.

However, the most eye-catching measure is the temporary reduction in the main rate of VAT to the lowest permitted level under European Union rules. It was last changed in 1991, when Norman Lamont, the then Tory chancellor, increased it from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent.

It is the only British tax to be regulated on a European level, although its receipts go to the government, and last night there were clear signals that Downing Street was hoping Britain's move would see other EU countries following suit.

In a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) tomorrow, Mr Brown is expected to warn that to fail to act against the economic downturn would be a "failure of leadership".

He is set to add: "A co-ordinated approach in Europe, our largest trading partner, would be of most benefit. That is why I have been discussing with other European leaders how we can best work together."

Last night Sir Stuart Rose, executive chairman of Marks & Spencer, said: "If the Government reduces VAT, then we would absolutely pass it on to customers. Not doing so would be the equivalent of the banks not lending money.

There were also clear signs last night that Mr Darling will use the PBR to announce some savings in government expenditure, possibly by £5 billion a year, from an "efficiency drive."
In his response to the PBR George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, will announce that the Tories will conduct a thorough audit of government spending if they win power.

He will hint at making major public spending cutbacks based on scrapping quangos, parts of regional government and projects such as ID cards.

With David Cameron, who last week confirmed weeks of articles in this newspaper by saying he would ditch the party's commitment to match Labour's spending plans, Mr Osborne will make clear that the Conservatives now believe that Britain cannot afford the spending Mr Darling is proposing.

Meanwhile, leading independent economists last night warned of painful tax rises to come. Jonathan Loynes, the Chief UK economist with Capital Economics, the independent economics consultancy, said: "Future tax rises are the next big issue for the economy.

"In the near term, we are looking at tax cuts and public spending increases. This is because of the strong consensus that – given the current economic circumstances – we need some sort of a fiscal boost.

"But it is very clear that at some time in the future we will need to go through a potentially painful period of fiscal consolidation to get the public finances back into a relatively healthy position. If anything, having a fiscal boost now increases that likelihood.

Robert Chote, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies said: "There is going to be an unsustainably large budget deficit once the economy has stabilised. We are looking at having to raise about three per cent of national income – or about £45 billion. You can do that through a combination of cuts in public spending and tax increases."

Ruth Lea, the Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, urges the Chancellor in an article in this paper not to make his tax cuts and rises in public spending too large. "As the British economy enters recession, it cries out for a significant fiscal boost, preferably cutting taxes," she said." But given the parlous state of the public finances, the fiscal boost must, very regrettably be relatively modest."

Her comments came amid more dire predictions about the state of the British economy. A report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research will tomorrow predict that the economy will shrink 1.5 per cent next year. It anticipates that unemployment will rise to two and a half million in 2010 and 2011.

lemonbunny

哈哈 全面大降价

LisaTBS

呵呵，好呀，降了，The Body Shop已经通知我们了，12月1号起产品将要降价了。

Enoch

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7744273.stm