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Balls calls for VAT cut to ‘jump start’ UK economy
Business digest: Shadow chancellor accuses Osborne of taking a ‘political gamble’ in speech
Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, has called for a VAT cut to "jump start" an economic recovery, calling George Osborne's current rate of 20 per cent a "political gamble with the nation's economy".
Speaking at the London School of Economics, Balls cited Labour's VAT cut in late 2008 as an effective way of boosting consumer spending. "It has an immediate impact on people's purchasing powers," he said.
His speech comes as UK retail sales were reported to have dropped by 1.4 per cent, offsetting the rise of 1.1 per cent they experienced last month.
He also reiterated his calls for a one-off tax on bankers' bonuses to fund the building of new homes and creation of more jobs.
The Conservative Party responded by calling his ideas a "plan for bankruptcy".
Read a full report at BBC News. ·
