UK spring Budget set for March 6, fuelling election speculation

(Sharecast News) - Britain's spring budget statement will be delivered on March 6, the Treasury announced on Wednesday, amid suggestions the government may axe inheritance tax in an attempt to narrow a large opinion poll deficit ahead of a General Election which must be called by January 2025. In a statement released during the holiday period when the majority of traders are away from their desks and financial markets are extremely quiet, Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said he had commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility to prepare an economic and fiscal forecast to be presented to parliament.

The release follows reports that ministers in the ruling Conservative Party were mulling tax cuts and help for first-time buyers in the coming months in the hope of giving the ailing government a pre-election boost amid the cost-of-living crisis and the highest tax burden on families and individuals since World War 2.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com