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Falling oil prices gives "opportunity" to raise taxes on fuel, the IMF says as election rages

Lee Baker
17 April 2015
 

The International Monetary Fund has uged the U.K to "seize the opportunity" created by falling oil prices to "rebalance the tax burden" from income to fuel.

In an overview of global economic conditions, the IMF sets out fiscal policies it believes are necessary to secure "sustainable economic growth". The organisation says that in advanced economies "a moderate and uneven recovery is taking place, supported by lower oil prices" and fiscal measures. But high debt levels "continue to pose headwinds to growth".

The IMF urges the use of fiscal policy to support growth, "for example, higher public investment in infrastructure could raise aggregate demand in the short-term and increase potential output in the medium-term". And it says that falling oil prices allow countries like the U.K to "reduce negative externalities caused by energy consumption and provide breathing room for re-balancing the tax burden... by lowering taxes on labour and provide space for productive spending".

The main political parties, publishing their manifestos this week, have declined to make commitments on fuel duty, and UKIP did not include a previous pledge to cut it in its manifesto. Council leaders have called for a proportion of fuel duty to be ring-fenced for highway maintenance to bolster revenues as traffic volumes grow.

 

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