Revive economy with tax cuts, say trade unions

Date: 19th November 2008

Taxation cuts should be high on the agenda come the chancellor's pre-budget speech next week, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

In particular, the TUC is calling for taxation cuts for low and middle income earners, as it believes this is more likely to stimulate the economy in the short term.

The group believes that the government should also look to help those affected by the economic downturn through suspending home repossessions and offering more benefits and redundancy packages.

General secretary of the TUC, Brendan Barber, said: "The government … should give extra resources to medium and low paid workers and the unemployed who are most likely to spend extra cash.

"It should boost public spending in ways that will both produce immediate economic benefits but also make the UK a fairer … place."

He added that the country is financially going through a "grim time", but at the least should be able to emerge from the crisis with a sustainable economy.

Earlier this week, it was revealed in the Financial Times that HM Revenue and Customs was to begin probing offshore accounts.