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New UK Finance Minister Scraps Controversial Tax Plans, Reassures Global Market

New UK Finance Minister Scraps Controversial Tax Plans, Reassures Global Market

After UK Prime Minister Liz Truss fired Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng on October 14, she appointed Jeremy Hunt to the post. Now, he has made major changes on his first day on the job.

Oxford-educated Hunt, 55, previously served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from July 9, 2018 to July 24, 2019. He was elected Conservative MP for South West Surrey in May 2005.

Per Reuters, one of Hunt's first acts in his new position was to reverse nearly all of Prime Minister Truss's mini-budget that had led to the near-collapse of the British pound.

On October 3, Truss -- who took over Boris Johnson following his July 7 resignation -- announced that she had tabled the plan, which had sparked global controversy. Hunt, however, officially scrapped the proposal today. 

Truss's U-turn came on the heels of the Bank of England taking emergency measures to stop the pound's nosedive on, September 28.

The Wall Street Journal reported on the sweeping tax package, noting that it intended to "cut payroll taxes, freeze corporation tax, ditch banker-bonus cap and spend billions to subsidize energy bills."

Amid the fiscal turmoil, the pound hit a historic low but Truss still defended the major tax cuts early on.

An NBC report pointed out that "few Brits actually voted for [Conservative] Truss" and that Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has "joined others in urging the government to address the crisis by recalling Parliament, which is on recess."

The news outlet spoke to Dominic Grieve, a former U.K. attorney general and member of Parliament who was with the Conservative Party until 2019.

Now, Hunt appears committed to stabilizing the British economy and reassuring the global market. The pound has already soared as a result of the policy reversal.

He said, "The most important objective for our country right now is stability."

What do you think about Jeremy Hunt's first actions as Finance Minister?

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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