Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will set out his plans in the Autumn Statement on November 17 and is considering splitting the burden equally between tax rises and spending cuts (Victoria Jones/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)With less than two days to go until the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement is announced, speculation around what it will include is growing.
The budget will be Jeremy Hunt’s first significant economic plan for the country, and he has already admitted that everyone will be paying more tax in the coming weeks and months.
On the agenda for the medium-term fiscal plan will be the energy price cap, which as it stands is due to end in April, as well as potential changes to business rates and benefits payments and a possible windfall tax rise.
But the Chancellor is facing quite the balancing act: supporting people through the start of a recession, while also plugging the £55 billion black hole in public finances.
Earlier this month it was reported that Mr Hunt is looking to do that through a combination of tax rises and public-spending cuts.
The Evening Standard's Deputy Political Editor David Bond discusses the key elements expected in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement.
Plus, Tina McKenzie from the Federation of Small Businesses discusses what businesses want from the budget, and how many are struggling to survive.
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