Paul Dales, chief U.K. economist at Capital Economics, said the plans were likely to be measured over the coming months and years in terms of how successfully economic growth holds up against the OBR forecasts — with any tax changes then set to follow suit. “If it [growth] is weaker and that weakness is expected to be sustained, then it may mean taxes need to rise further to achieve forecasted levels of tax revenue,” Dales said over email, noting that Capital Economics forecasts a sight uptick in growth. If there were further pressure to raise government spending, while all else stayed unchanged, higher taxes could be expected, he added.
