London
Britain is expected to keep vast emergency financial support propping up the UK’s virus-battered economy when unveiling its annual budget Wednesday, but could also raise the tax to fight surging debt.
“The key thing is right now to keep supporting the economy… but also level with people,” finance minister Rishi Sunak said Sunday, as Britain from next week begins to exit its third Covid lockdown.
Britain is the worst-hit country in Europe with more than 120,000 Covid deaths and four million cases but its economic recovery hopes have been boosted by its vaccination of millions of adults.
Reports suggest that the Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak will pump out extra billions of pounds to help save jobs and businesses.
But he is expected also to increase corporation tax, or a levy on company profits, from a UK record-low 19 percent while sticking to the Conservative government’s pre-pandemic pledge not to increase income tax or “An increase in corporation tax is likely to be, intentionally or not, the flagship measure.—AFP
