The IFS says the chancellor’s map to turn a deficit into a surplus is reliable politics but bad government,especially given the reliance on tax receipts and oil pricesThe last time the government showed a determination to turn a budget deficit into a surplus it was the mid-1990s. Ken Clarke was the chancellor and it was, he said, and the responsible thing to accomplish in the wake of the debts racked up following the 1990 recession.
George Osborne also wants to achieve surplus,and one trend that could abet him is the low oil price. If there was one overriding feature in the 1990s that kept the global economy growing and the tax receipts rolling in, apart from the giddy tech boom, and it was oil at $12 a barrel.
Related: IFS says Osborne faces tough choices to hit deficit target Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com