ECONOMICS-FOCUS

This was supposed to be the month of the Budget, in which Rishi Sunak might have set out some tax-raising ideas, but the second national lockdown means that he is still giving plenty of money away, as David Smith reports.

The economy is experiencing a record decline as a result of the coronavirus crisis, according to the government’s fiscal watchdog, and so too are tax revenues, as economics expert David Smith reports.

The Budget focuses on emergency measures on Covid-19 and long-term investment, writes John Hawksworth (PwC).

With the former chancellor on record as saying he wanted to unveil a tax-cutting Budget, the outlook for Rishi Sunak’s first Budget is even more uncertain, as David Smith explains.

Governments normally rein back on their spending after a general election, but not this one, to the detriment of the public finances, as David Smith explains.

Spending pledges are being flung around like confetti in the election campaign but politicians are coy about the fact that they will ultimately lead to higher taxes, as David Smith reports.

The Tory leadership candidates are proposing large-scale tax cuts and public spending increases. The question is whether they will ever be implemented, as David Smith reports.

The Budget backfired badly, and ended up creating more political difficulties than George Osborne’s previous seven. Only if the EU referendum is won will this be forgotten, writes David Smith.