Government borrowing in August rose to the highest level for the month since the Covid pandemic in 2021.Official figures show that borrowing – the difference between spending and tax revenue – reached £13.7bn last month, £3.3bn more than in August last year.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that tax income “grew strongly” but this was outweighed by some benefits being increased and higher spending on public services, including workers pay.The figures are released as the government prepares for the Budget at the end of October, which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned will be “painful”. The government has admitted that some taxes will have to rise but said it will stick to its manifesto promise not to increase the burden on “working people” such as increasing VAT, national insurance or income tax.Public borrowing for the first five months of the financial year reached £64.1bn, some £6bn more than forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which monitors the UK government’s spending plans and performance.Increased borrowing in August means that national debt remains at 100% of the UK’s annual economic output – a level last seen in the early 1960s.”There are only four answers to high debt – three are bad answers, one is good and the good one is economic growth,” Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at asset manager Allianz told the BBC. “The alternatives tend to be much more painful short-term and long-term so economic growth has to remain a mission.” Latest figures showed the UK economy failed to grow in July, a blow for the new government, which has put boo …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnGovernment borrowing in August rose to the highest level for the month since the Covid pandemic in 2021.Official figures show that borrowing – the difference between spending and tax revenue – reached £13.7bn last month, £3.3bn more than in August last year.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that tax income “grew strongly” but this was outweighed by some benefits being increased and higher spending on public services, including workers pay.The figures are released as the government prepares for the Budget at the end of October, which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned will be “painful”. The government has admitted that some taxes will have to rise but said it will stick to its manifesto promise not to increase the burden on “working people” such as increasing VAT, national insurance or income tax.Public borrowing for the first five months of the financial year reached £64.1bn, some £6bn more than forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which monitors the UK government’s spending plans and performance.Increased borrowing in August means that national debt remains at 100% of the UK’s annual economic output – a level last seen in the early 1960s.”There are only four answers to high debt – three are bad answers, one is good and the good one is economic growth,” Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at asset manager Allianz told the BBC. “The alternatives tend to be much more painful short-term and long-term so economic growth has to remain a mission.” Latest figures showed the UK economy failed to grow in July, a blow for the new government, which has put boo …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
