Year: 2016
Type: report
Abstract: No more Autumn Statements.Hurrah.If there has been any promise made by any chancellor I have been able to welcome more warmly I can't remember it.Of course that's partly just a personal preference.I'm getting too old to pull two all-nighters a year in response to fiscal events.But more seriously we have had far too much, far too bad, policy in Budgets, Autumn Statements and pre budget reports over the years.The temptations for Chancellors to use their two days to make too many headline grabbing announcements is great indeed.As I said in a letter to Mr Hammond back in September, along with colleagues from the IfG and CIOT, moving to one fiscal event a year should reduce "the frequency of new significant changes of direction, release resource for better consultation, produce higher quality legislation and more effective implementation, and make life simpler for taxpayers".Let's hope.And Mr Hammond in any case made a pretty good start.Not too many rabbits from the hat.Otherwise, yesterday was notable for three big things:1) The downgrade in the economic forecasts, and consequent downgrade in forecast living standards.The OBR think national income in 2020-21 will be £30 billion lower than they projected back in March -that's equivalent to £1,000 per household;2) The new, much looser, fiscal rules and the turning of a £10 billion surplus in 2019-20 into a £20 billion deficit that year;3) The clear prioritisation by Mr Hammond to direct most of what largesse he felt able to afford to paying for additional investment spendingroads, housing, research and development -to support the economy in the long run, rather than to pay to support the incomes of the "justabout-managing", or indeed public services, in the short run.
Author: Paul Johnson
Language: English
Topic: Economic and Fiscal Studies
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W2554284097