London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 26, 2025

IMF sounds alarm on UK tax cut plans

IMF sounds alarm on UK tax cut plans

The International Monetary Fund has openly criticised the UK government over its plan for tax cuts, warning that the measures are likely to fuel the cost-of-living crisis.

In an unusually outspoken statement, the IMF said the proposal would be likely to increase inequality and add to pressures pushing up prices.

Markets have already raised alarm over the plans, sending the pound plunging.

The government says the measures will kickstart economic growth.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled the country's biggest tax package in 50 years on Friday. The £45bn cut will be funded by government borrowing.

The IMF works to stabilise the global economy, and one of its roles is to act as an early economic warning system.

It said it understood the package aimed to boost growth via tax cuts, but it warned that the measures could speed up the pace of price rises, which the UK's central bank is trying to bring down.

"Furthermore, the nature of the UK measures will likely increase inequality," it said.

The IMF said that the government publishing a fiscal plan on 23 November gave it an opportunity to "re-evaluate" tax measures, "especially those that benefit high income earners".

The UK government proposals would scrap the top rate of income tax, and end a cap on bankers' bonuses, among other measures.

The announcement on Friday sparked days of financial turmoil, as investors dumped the pound and UK debt. On Monday the pound fell to record lows against the dollar.

Some of the country's biggest lenders suspended mortgage deals amid the uncertainty.

The Treasury said: "We are focused on growing the economy to raise living standards for everyone."

It added that Mr Kwarteng was due to publish his medium-term plan for the economy on 23 November, which would include ensuring that UK debt falls as a share of economic output in the medium term.

Meanwhile, Lord Frost, the former Brexit minister and close ally of Prime Minister Liz Truss, criticised the IMF's statement.

He told the Daily Telegraph: "The IMF has consistently advocated highly conventional economic policies. It is following this approach that has produced years of slow growth and weak productivity.

"The only way forward for Britain is lower taxes, spending restraint, and significant economic reform."

BBC economics editor Faisal Islam says the IMF's "stinging rebuke... reflected similar concerns from the world's major finance ministries that a crisis brewing in the UK could spill over into a global slowdown".

On Tuesday, the Bank of England signalled that it was prepared to ramp up interest rates in response to the slump in the value of the pound.

Its chief economist Huw Pill said the Bank "cannot be indifferent" to the developments of the past days.

He said the Bank would have to deliver a "significant monetary policy response" to protect sterling.

Speaking to BBC Two's Newsnight, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers described the situation facing the UK as "very ominous".

"I can't in all honesty remember a time when a set of policy announcements from a G7 country elicited so negative a response both from markets and from economic experts," he said.

"When a country sees its interest rates rise by [as much as they have] in two days at the same time that its currency is falling in a major way, that is a sign that there has been a major loss of market credibility and market confidence.

"The kind of warning that Britain received from the IMF today is a kind of warning that comes much more frequently to emerging markets with new governments than to a country like Britain."

Asked about the UK's plans at an event in Washington, White House economic adviser Brian Deese said he had not been surprised by the negative reaction of the markets and that it was important to focus on "fiscal prudence, fiscal discipline", the Reuters news agency reported.

Moody's credit rating agency said on Wednesday that the UK's plan for "large unfunded tax cuts" was "credit negative" and would lead to higher, persistent deficits "amid rising borrowing costs [and] a weaker growth outlook". Moody's did not change the UK's credit rating.

Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government must "urgently lay out how it will fix the problems it created through its reckless decisions to waste money in an untargeted cut in the top rate of tax".

"Waiting until November [when the fiscal plan is published] is not an option," she said. Instead, "the government must urgently review the plans made in their fiscal statement last week".

She added: "This statement from the IMF should set alarm bells ringing in government and make it clear that they need to act now."


IMF statement in full


"We are closely monitoring recent economic developments in the UK and are engaged with the authorities.

"We understand that the sizable fiscal package announced aims at helping families and businesses deal with the energy shock and at boosting growth via tax cuts and supply measures.

"However, given elevated inflation pressures in many countries, including the UK, we do not recommend large and untargeted fiscal packages at this juncture, as it is important that fiscal policy does not work at cross purposes to monetary policy.

"Furthermore, the nature of the UK measures will likely increase inequality.

"The November 23 budget will present an early opportunity for the UK government to consider ways to provide support that is more targeted and re evaluate the tax measures, especially those that benefit high income earners."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
×