UK faces stark choice of higher taxes or decline in public services, warns IFS

‘Unless something major changes … it will not be possible to maintain public services and keep tax at current levels,’ says the thinktank. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Britain faces a stark choice between paying higher taxes or accepting an inevitable deterioration in public services and the welfare state, a report says.

In an in-depth study of the UK tax system, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank said the already high level of taxes and the weak prospects for growth meant voters faced a tough choice.