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Why UK Tax Hikes Loom as Reeves Looks to Plug Fiscal Black Hole

Rachel Reeves, UK chancellor of the exchequer, outside 11 Downing Street ahead of presenting her budget to parliament in October 2024.Source: Bloomberg

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is heading into a difficult autumn budget as economists make a common prediction: tax rises are in store.

Reeves had said she’d stabilized the country’s finances at her inaugural budget last year, when she increased levies by £40 billion ($54.2 billion) to fund extra spending on public services and fill a budget hole left by the previous Conservative government.