Chancellor's Budget tax increases 'will boost growth sustainably', says IMF 04 Nov 2024Commenting on Chancellor Rachel Reeves' recent Autumn Budget, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated the tax increases announced will 'boost growth sustainably'. The IMF said it approves of the UK government's plans to 'boost growth through a needed increase in public investment, while addressing urgent pressures on public services'. An IMF spokesperson said: 'We support the envisaged reduction in the deficit over the medium term, including by sustainably raising revenue.' The Chancellor recently conceded that her Budget measure to raise employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) will lead to employees being paid less. Paul Johnson, Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), commented that 'if you are to lean on one of the big three [taxes] then employer National Insurance is definitely not the best place to go'. He continued: 'It is likely to impinge more disproportionately on workers and their employers than would an increase in, say, the basic and higher rate of income tax.'