Martin Ivens, Columnist

UK's Hunt Gave With One Hand, Took With the Other

A crafty budget statement cuts the payroll levy but drives taxpayers into higher brackets.

November 25, 2023 at 7:00 AM UTC

Martin Ivens is the editor of the Times Literary Supplement. Previously, he was editor of the Sunday Times of London and its chief political commentator.

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt are smiling.
Photographer: IAN FORSYTH/AFP

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The UK chancellor of the exchequer’s Autumn Statement on Wednesday — a budget by any other name — was a triumph of presentation. Inflation has more than halved from its peak, Jeremy Hunt declared, debt levels are set to fall within a few years and a recession has been avoided.

Hunt was praised on all sides, even grudgingly by the opposition Labour party, for allowing businesses to write off the value of new capital investments against tax, or “full expensing.” The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects the supply-side measure will boost business investment by almost 1 percent of gross domestic product.