UK finance minister rules out near-term tax reductions

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt walks at Downing Street in London, Britain, November 17, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/

LONDON: Britain’s finance minister Jeremy Hunt ruled out near-term tax cuts ahead of a mid-year fiscal statement due on Nov 22, but says in a newspaper interview he wants to avoid “a vicious circle of ever-rising taxes”.

Many lawmakers in Britain’s ruling Conservatives want Hunt to deliver tax cuts before the next election, as their party heavily trails the opposition Labour Party in opinion polls.