Sunak eyes pre-election tax cuts if UK inflation dips below 3% -Bloomberg News

(Reuters) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to offer pre-election tax cuts in next year’s budget if inflation falls below 3% this year, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

“As Conservatives we all want to reduce the size of the state and cut taxes,” Sunak said at a pre-budget Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, according to the report.

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt sought in his budget on Wednesday to revitalise the stagnating economy, which he said was now set to avoid a recession this year.

Citing new Office for Budget Responsibility figures, Hunt said inflation was set to fall from 10.7% in the final quarter of last year to 2.9% by the end of 2023.

(Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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