UPDATE 1-UK finance minister Sunak says must make public finances sustainable over time
LONDON, Sept 2- Chancellor Rishi Sunak said Britain would need to make its pable over nces sustainable over time, but he did not comment on reports of planned tax rises, saying his first task was jobs and driving a recovery. “In the short term my priority is to drive our recovery forward to protect and support and create as many jobs as possible, but of course it’s right…
LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Chancellor Rishi Sunak said
Britain would need to make its pable over
nces sustainable over
time, but he did not comment on reports of planned tax rises,
saying his first task was jobs and driving a recovery.
“In the short term my priority is to drive our recoveryforward to protect and support and create as many jobs aspossible, but of course it’s right that over time we havesustainable public finances,” Sunak said.
“I think everyone understands we can’t carry on doingexactly what we did this year forever.”
Britain’s public debt has passed 2 trillion pounds ($2.7trillion), pushed up by emergency spending on Sunak’scoronavirus job retention scheme, tax cuts for businesses andconsumers and even a dining-out subsidy to coax people back intorestaurants.
That has pushed the question of how to pay for additionalborrowing up the agenda, with weekend newspaper reportssuggesting the finance ministry was looking at sweeping taxrises.
Sunak, speaking at the launch of a scheme to help youngpeople into work, said such reports were speculation. A budgetis expected later this year.(Reporting by William James, editing by Andy Bruce and StephenAddison)