IEA Executive Director Tom Clougherty has commented in The Observer on this week’s Budget.

Tom said:

“Given fiscal headroom, the chancellor should prioritise reforms that will have a lasting economic impact over pre-election giveaways. Some technical changes to corporation tax and business rates would help, but abolishing distortionary and destructive stamp duties – or cutting them as much as possible – should top the wish list.

“Hunt should not hand his successor a budgetary black hole. Keeping public spending flat in real, per capita terms is fine – but it must be accompanied by reform. Starving public services of resources while doing nothing to make them more productive is a key failure of the last decade.”

Read Tom’s full comment here.

Read Tom’s full analysis ahead of the Budget: Stagnating Economy Looms Over the Budget, says IEA Executive Director.