Britain is in recession, Hunt makes it official; windfall tax hiked to 35%

British finance minister Jeremy Hunt announced a string of tax increases and tighter public spending in a budget plan on Thursday.

Outlining a 55 billion-pound plan — almost half from tax rises — to fix the public finances, Hunt said the economy was already in recession and set to shrink next year as it struggles with inflation forecast to average 9 per cent this year and 4 per cent in 2024.
 

The tax burden would hit 37.1 per cent of GDP, its highest sustained level since World War Two, at the end of its five-year forecast period, the OBR said,