|
 An older population and more expensive healthcare will add 76
billion pounds ($103 billion) a year to public spending by 2030,
taking the size of the British state to 44% of the economy from 42%
now, making it almost as big as Germany's was before the pandemic,
it said.
Dan Tomlinson, a Resolution Foundation economist, said Britain had
typically funded higher spending on health, pensions and education
by shrinking its army and raising social security contributions,
both options that are getting harder.
"We'll need to tax income more efficiently and fairly, and find new
sources of tax revenue such as from better taxing wealth," he said.
Britain's household wealth has grown from three times national
income in the early 1980s to almost eight times now, pushed up in
large part by rising house prices and the value of pension plans.
[to top of second column] |
 Prime Minister Boris Johnson and finance
minister Rishi Sunak have had to overcome stiff
opposition from within their own Conservative
Party to a planned 13 billion-pound increase in
social security contributions starting in April.
Tomlinson said that was "small fry" compared
with future tax decisions, especially as the
phasing out of petrol and diesel-powered cars
would cost 8 billion pounds a year in lost fuel
tax revenues by 2030, the Resolution Foundation
said.
($1 = 0.7381 pounds)
(Writing by William Schomberg; editing by David
Milliken)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
