UK push to restore finances means higher taxes, energy bills

LONDON (AP) — Millions of British people face higher taxes and steeper energy bills after the government announced an emergency budget on Thursday aimed at restoring the country's economic credibility and shoring up its battered public finances.

Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt promised to protect the most vulnerable, including pensioners and those on low incomes, and increase funding for core public services like health and education, even as he imposed 55 billion pounds in tax increases and spending cuts.

Hunt acknowledged he was delivering “a substantial tax increase,” with measures that include higher taxes on top earners and levies on some businesses.

At the same time, Hunt pledged to spend billions of pounds to help consumers pay soaring energy bills, increase welfare benefits and pensions in line with inflation, and maintain investment in energy and infrastructure projects.

Just three weeks after taking office, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government faces the challenge of balancing the nation's budget while helping millions of people slammed by a cost-of-living crisis as Russia's war in Ukraine pushes up energy prices and slows economic growth.

The emergency budget statement aimed to restore the government's financial and political credibility after former Prime Minister Liz Truss announced 45 billion pounds in unfunded tax cuts that torpedoed investor confidence, sent the pound to record lows against the US dollar and sparked emergency central bank intervention.

Truss was forced to resign six weeks after taking office.

Saying the UK faces “unprecedented global headwinds,” Hunt unveiled the package that he said would help tame inflation and rein in public debt while bolstering the economy.

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