The UK scraps a proposed tax cut for the wealthy that sparked market turmoil

British Prime Minister Liz Truss at the Conservative Party annual conference in Birmingham, England on Sunday. Truss and her Treasury chief have spent the last 10 days defending the cut in the face of market mayhem. (Stefan Rousseau/AP)

BIRMINGHAM, England — The British government on Monday dropped plans to cut income tax for top earners, part of a package of unfunded cuts unveiled only days ago that sparked turmoil on financial markets and sent the pound to record lows.

In a dramatic about-face, Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng abandoned plans to scrap the top 45% rate of income tax paid on earnings above 150,000 pounds ($167,000) a year.