The British government intends to supplement the budget with businesses that managed to make money during the crisis as the authorities’ incompetent response to the pandemic and the aftermath of Brexit have devastated the country’s budget
The Sunday Times reported on the drastic measures London has prepared for businessmen, citing emails in its possession.
According to the emails, the finance ministry plans to impose a one-off “excess profits tax” on retailers, even though the sector is seen as worst hit by the Corona crisis. Officials are also discussing a tax on online sales. Presumably these taxes will be introduced in the second half of the year
As News Front previously reported, the UK has paid dearly for the delays of Boris Johnson’s government in dealing with the coronavirus. Despite all further attempts to control the spread of COVID-19, Britain found itself on the list of countries worst hit by the pandemic. The economic consequences were not long in coming, especially as the crisis caught the kingdom in the process of leaving the European Union.
Against this backdrop, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is facing pressure from the Conservative Party. He is due to present a new budget in March, showing that spending is under control as the country’s borrowing levels have become the highest since World War II.
Government borrowing since the start of the fiscal year in April reached a record 271 billion pounds, or $370 billion, according to figures last month.