Former advisor Jim O'Neill said Chancellor Xili should avoid raising corporate
or high‑earner taxes in this month's budget and instead accept a one‑off
reduction in fiscal buffers to absorb shock from the Iran war. He estimated the
UK fiscal shortfall at about £12bn and warned large tax increases would damage
market confidence as the economy nears a return to healthy growth. O'Neill said
he would be "very disappointed" by any rise in the capital gains tax rate and
warned targeting banks with higher taxes would be futile.
