Who will pay the price for the UK recession?
As we start to move towards the business end of bringing the UK economy out of recession there are fears that UK consumers and UK taxpayers will ultimately pay the price. The UK government has already threatened to return VAT to the former level of 17.5% and end the 15% reduced rate we have enjoyed for some months. We've also seen the government threatened to both reduce public spending, although no figures are yet available, and also increase income tax in the medium to longer term.
It seems inevitable that even though UK taxpayers have so far funded a rescue plan for the UK financial sector they will inevitably pay the price and be asked to inject more money into the economy. This comes at a time when the UK economy is still struggling and unemployment is set to rise for at least another 12 months. With some analysts forecasting unemployment will reach 3 million before it starts to fall again there appear to be some rough times ahead for UK taxpayers. While the worst of the situation will not be confirmed until after the next general election, when all parties involved may well move the goal posts, make no mistake, the UK consumer and the UK taxpayer will, again, inevitably pay the price for the recession.
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