Hunt Rolls Out Tax Cuts in Bid to Jam Labour Before UK Vote (2)

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt cut personal and business taxes as he tried to shift the economic narrative and set out dividing lines with the opposition Labour Party ahead of a general election expected next year, even as the UK’s growth forecast was substantially downgraded.

Hunt’s most eye-catching announcement was a two percentage point reduction to the headline 12% rate of national insurance, a payroll tax, a move he said would help 27 million people. He also made permanent a tax break for corporate investment known as “full expensing,” calling it the largest business tax cut in modern British ...