Chancellor fends off IMF criticism
Gordon Brown hits back at IMF suggestions that he may need to raise taxes to balance the books.
Gordon Brown has spoken out against the IMF and EU after the two bodies claimed that the chancellor might well have to increase taxes to balance the treasury’s books.
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The Daily Telegraph reports that the IMF criticised Brown for allowing public finances to deteriorate, saying that ‘mild fiscal adjustment’ in the form of spending cuts or tax rises would be needed.
Brown answered back by saying that debt in the UK was under control and compared favourably with other countries with large economies.
‘Debt in the UK is well below the 40pc of gross domestic product ceiling we set in our fiscal rules; lower than all the major industrial countries,’ Brown was quoted as saying.