UK FinMin Hunt prepares a plan for 60 billion Pounds worth tax hike, spending cuts

UK Finance Minister (FinMin) Jeremy Hunt plans to set out on Nov. 17 up to 60 billion Pounds ($67.82 billion) of tax rises and spending cuts, including at least 35 billion pounds ($39.56 billion) in cuts, the Guardian reported on Sunday, per Reuters.

Key quotes

Citing a Whitehall source, the newspaper said the figures remained estimates and subject to change, but that Hunt had told staff he was looking for at least 50-60 billion Pounds worth of measures in his autumn statement.

Early drafts of the statement to be delivered on Nov. 17 contain plans for up to 35 billion pounds of spending cuts and up to 25 billion pounds of tax rises, likely to include freezing income tax thresholds and targeting dividend tax relief, the Guardian report said.

It said decisions on whether to raise benefits in line with inflation or to change the pensions "triple lock" were likely to be taken within days, so that the independent Office for Budget Responsibility could factor any such changes into its forecasts.

GBPUSD retreats

Following an upbeat end to the week, GBPUSD marked a downside gap to begin Monday’s trading amid a risk-off mood. The aforementioned news did little to placate bears. That said, the Cable pair remains pressured around 1.1320, down 0.48% intraday, by the press time.