Public finances may scupper tax cuts say Tories
The poor state of the public finances may stop the Conservatives' plans to cut tax says Philip Hammond
Plans to cut taxes may be hamstrung because of the poor state of the public
finances.
Philip Hammond the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury said in an
interview with the
Daily
Telegraph : ‘I am an instinctive tax cutter and I think that’s the important
point. We will put stability first. But we are a party that by instinct wants to
see the share of public spending reduced over time.’
David Cameron has gone as far as saying that his party would only make tax
cuts when money was available, but Hammond is appearing to take a tougher
stance.
‘It depends very much on the state of the economy, on how much debt the
government has piled up by the time we come into office and then we will have to
make a judgment about how we can divide the proceeds of growth between tax
reductions and reductions in borrowing over the economic cycle.’