19 August 2011

In response to the fall in public sector net borrowing figures

Sam Bowman, Head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute, says:

“Unfortunately, the drop in public sector net borrowing is due to the government taking money out of the economy through the bank levy. As a double-dip recession looms, taxes and levies will make the UK's economic position even more precarious than it is.

“The government should go for growth by cutting taxes and close its deficit by cutting spending. Taxes may make things look better for the government in the short term, but will hurt growth in the long term. We can't afford not to cut spending faster and deeper than the government has planned. The Chancellor should know better than to take money out of the economy through taxes at a time like this.”