Finance minister warns of ‘tough decisions’ ahead

British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt announced on Sunday “very difficult decisions” to come a few days before the presentation of his budget, already warning that taxes would increase in the face of the rising cost of living.

“There are going to be very difficult decisions. But we are a resilient country and frankly we have faced bigger challenges in our history,” he told Sky News as the UK commemorates the victims of wars on Sunday.

Inflation in the UK is over 10% and due to rising energy prices, many UK households are struggling to pay their bills and dread when they will have to turn on the heating.

Announced tax hike

“We’re all going to have to pay a little more tax, I’m afraid,” he warned as he was due to present his budget on Thursday.

The appointment is eagerly awaited in the United Kingdom after the fiasco of the “mini-budget” presented by the government of Liz Truss in September which had panicked the markets by announcing massive and unfunded tax cuts.

To calm the storm, Jeremy Hunt had been called to the Ministry of Finance and had already returned to most of the measures announced. He was due to present a new budget plan on October 3 but, once reappointed by Rishi Sunak who became Prime Minister, felt that it would be “prudent” to postpone the presentation to November 17.

“We are going to ask everyone to make sacrifices. But I think in a just society, like we are in the UK, you have to recognize that you can’t ask too much of those on the lowest incomes, and I take that into account in the decisions I take, ”he wanted to reassure.

According to the British press, Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce a change in income tax brackets to tax the wealthy more and impose strict budget cuts in government.