The Five Demands

Attesa per il bilancio che verrà presentato oggi da George Osborne

L’Irlanda del Nord si appresta a fare i conti con quello che è stato definito dagli economisti come il ‘bilancio più duro in una generazione”.
Il Cancelliere George Osborne ha deciso di portare il Paese ad affrontare il deficit record di 155 milioni di sterline, attraverso una politica di tagli alla spesa pubblica e di aumento delle tasse.
Dovrebbero essere annunciato anche l’aumento delle soglie di imposta.
A farne maggiormente le spese saranno le regioni come l’Irlanda del Nord, verso la quale si spera Osborne abbia un occhio di riguardo offrendo sgravi fiscali o incentivi per incoraggiare la crescita del settore privato e gli investimenti.

NI prepares for tough budget cuts (U TV)
Northern Ireland is bracing itself for one of the toughest budgets in a generation, a chief economist warned.
He has also warned he will ‘significantly accelerate’ measures to reduce the level of debt.
That is expected to be through spending cuts and tax rises.
He is also expected to announce an increase in tax thresholds.
The youngest Chancellor for more than a century will present an ‘emergency’ plan to tackle the record 155 billion deficit later.
Earlier in June Westminster’s new independent finance watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), slashed HM Treasury’s pre-election economic growth forecasts and revised public borrowing estimates.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ chief economist, Esmond Birnie, said the OBR forecasts suggest that the Chancellor could be looking at tax increases or public spending cuts, worth at least £24 billion a year until the end of the current parliament in 2015.
“The OBR has cut growth forecasts and says that UK structural borrowing will be nearly £1bn more than Alistair Darling’s forecast in the March Budget,” Mr Birnie said.
“Lower growth, higher borrowing and a £156bn deficit means even greater pressure to cut public spending in England and in the devolved regions.
“With swinging public sector spending cuts on his Budget radar, the Chancellor must be careful with regions like Northern Ireland that are heavily reliant on public expenditure.”
He said he hoped Mr Osborne will soften the impact of spending cuts on Northern Ireland and the Executive, by offering tax breaks or incentives to encourage private sector growth and investment.
“Regardless of how the Chancellor treats the regions, this is going to be the toughest Budget in a generation,” he added.
In May the Chancellor announced £6.2bn of public spending cuts as part of his plan to take “urgent action” to address the UK’s £156bn budget deficit, while last week he announced he was scrapping £2bn of projects approved under Labour.
The immediate impact of the £6.2 billion of savings was a £128m cut in the Executive’s budget
PwC says that, come Tuesday, public sector pay and pensions and the UK’s £180bn a year benefits bill will all be the target of George Osborne’s axe.
Before the election, the Conservatives pledged a 12-month public sector pay freeze for those earning more than £18,000, but Tuesday could also see reform of public-sector pensions, where the cost is set to triple to £9.4bn over the next five years.