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Hunt's Tax and Spending Plans Would Cost U.K. $36 Billion
Jeremy Hunt’s tax and spending proposals could cost the U.K. exchequer around 28 billion pounds ($36 billion) a year, adding to long-term pressures on the public finances, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The foreign secretary, who is vying with Boris Johnson to become the next prime minister, has promised to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP and lower the tax rate on corporate profits to 12.5%, the same as in Ireland. In an an analysis published Thursday, the IFS put the cost of hiking defense spending from the current 2% of GDP at 15 billion pounds by 2023-24, with the proposed ... (full story)