Government will have to
continue ramping up investment and make our tax system fairer
over the rest of the
parliament
IPPR has reacted to measures announced
in today's budget by , the
chancellor of the
exchequer.
Harry Quilter-Pinner, interim
IPPR executive director,
said:
“Today's
budget
marks a decisive, positive shift
for the UK economy. By setting a course that involves higher
investment than the previous government planned, and additional
tax revenue to support public services, the chancellor is
steering the country away from stagnation and
austerity, towards a
better economy.
“On investment, the chancellor has
heeded our call that getting the fastest growth in the G7 will
not be possible with the lowest investment in the G7. This budget
marks the moment when the UK turns the tide on our low
investment, low productivity, low wage economy. The focus must
now be on increasing investment year on year, and spending it
well, to deliver shared growth.
“Today's tax reforms have
prevented the worst of the planned spending cuts that were
inherited from the previous government. But there is more work to
do. A wealthy millionaire or billionaire will still be able to
pay a lower rate of tax than the average nurse. And the overall
spending envelope will still leave some departments with tough
decisions to make.
“The new government inherited a
terrible economic situation after many years of crisis and
mismanagement. Today the chancellor has taken important steps
towards building a better Britain. But decades of economic damage
cannot be undone in one budget. This must be the start of a
decade of national renewal.”
On the economy, Dr George
Dibb, associate director for economic policy at IPPR,
said:
“The chancellor has introduced
welcome reforms to Britain's fiscal rules and charted an
ambitious path for much-needed investment that IPPR has called
for. This is an essential part of overcoming more than a decade
of economic mismanagement and
stagnation.
“Tweaks to how government measures
debt in its fiscal rules will open desirable space for greater
borrowing to rebuild the foundations of the UK economy. This is
an important, pro-growth approach that can support improving
public services, address climate change and begin to address
regional inequalities.
“We welcome reforms to taxes on
income from wealth, including capital gains tax, inheritance tax,
and carried interest. These are first steps in making the UK tax
system fairer, even if some do not go as far as we would hope.
The rise in the rate of capital gains tax of just 4 per cent is
lower than the full equalisation with income tax IPPR have called
for. There is still work needed to improve the fairness of the
UK's tax system.”
