Brown will bankrupt the Country

When he first took on the job as chancellor the Tories had left £50 million in the bank. Now 10 years on the chancellor has lifted the tax burden to breaking point and the country is dangerously in the red according to the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF announced this warning after the level of taxes reached its highest since the mid-1980s and have urged the Chancellor to cut spending and to make "disciplined choices" in this summer's Comprehensive Spending Review.

Unfortunately, Brown is so arrogant that he will probably ignore the warning and carry on with his misguided policies. But further increases in taxes will drive businesses away and put more pressure on households.

The IMF warnings come less than two weeks after a YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph showed that Mr Brown was losing his reputation for economic competence and failing to convince voters that he would make a better prime minister than David Cameron. This is not good news only a fortnight before what is expected to be his final Budget as Chancellor.

The IMF also said there is a significant chance of a fall in house prices. And in a blow to hard-pressed households, it said interest rates may soon have to rise to 5.5 per cent.
The institution's annual survey of the British economy saved its biggest criticism for Mr Brown's tax-and-spend policies. It warned that Britain had witnessed the "most aggressive fiscal expansion of any G7 country".

It calculated that the tax-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio - a key measure of the tax burden - was now, at almost 38 per cent, the level it hit in the mid-1980s.

But critically, the report's authors warned that, with Mr Brown having raised taxes on North Sea producers and on air tickets over the past year, it could be damaging to the economy if he raised the burden further. They concluded that the only solution was for spending to be cut.

Without dramatic cuts Brown risks breaking IMF rules that limit the amount he can borrow. So no more to tax and spend, Brown's philosophy of the last decade.

If that wasn't bad enough the CBI said tax levels were now so high that Britain was losing its competitiveness.

A Treasury spokesman said: "As the IMF highlight in their statement, macro-economic performance in the UK remains impressive, while our openness and flexibility continue to position the United Kingdom to benefit from the opportunities of globalisation and absorb shocks.

"The economy has seen continuing economic growth, for a record 58 consecutive quarters, with low inflation and macro-economic stability, even in the face of high energy and commodity prices.

"The UK is meeting both its strict fiscal rules and will continue to do so, while allowing the automatic stabilisers to operate fully."

Would someone please translate that treasury statement and Gordon stop biting your finger nails.

Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-06 11:01:24