Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Gerard Lyons
“One word describes this Budget: bad, but it can be used three times, bad, bad, bad. Bad in terms of its fiscal consequences, economic impact and the incentives it embeds. Because so much of the Budget was trailed in advance, the initial impact of it may be seen as neutral. It’s not. The Red Book confirmed that Britain is a high public spending, high tax and high borrowing economy—and with no appetite ever to reform. The Budget provided a decisive shift away from a focus on economic growth to redistribution as a driver of fiscal policy. Tax hikes, not trimming public spending. Hitting work, not incentivising it. And saddling businesses with higher costs. The unintended consequences of the Chancellor’s 88 fiscal measures will be hard to quantify, but is unlikely to be economically beneficial.” (12/03/25)
https://fee.org/articles/low-growth-high-taxes-and-no-control/