OBR warns chancellor faces long period of sluggish wages growth that will dent tax receipts and increase borrowingPhilip Hammond must borrow an extra £90bn over the next five years after the Treasury’s independent forecaster downgraded productivity growth.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned that the chancellor faced a long period of lower than expected wages growth that would dent tax receipts and push up borrowing. The cumulative effect over the life of the parliament would add £90.5bn to the UK’s debt pile and jeopardise Hammond’s target of balancing the government’s books by 2025,it said.
Productivity is an economic degree of the efficiency of a workforce. It typically measures the level of output per hour of work, or per worker. Related: The genuine budget story is the sharp slit in growth forecasts | Larry Elliott The Office for Budget Responsibility is the government’s independent forecaster, or which gives its verdict on the outlook for growth and the public finances twice a year.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com