United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss defended her policy to cut taxes and help grow the nation’s stagnant economy in a recent interview.
“The U.K. has one of the lowest levels of debt in the G7. But we have one of the highest levels of taxes. Currently, we have a 70-year high in our tax rates. And what I’m determined to do as prime minister, and what the chancellor is determined to do, is make sure we are incentivizing businesses to invest,” Truss told CNN’s Jake Tapper in a pre-recorded interview that was released Sunday on “State of the Union.”
Truss, who became prime minister on Sept. 6, has ushered in a return of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s policy of supply-side economics, slashing taxes with the goal to boost production. The cuts include halting the plan to raise the corporate tax rate and lifting the cap on bonuses for bank executives.
“And we’re also helping ordinary people with their taxes. And that’s why I don’t feel it’s right to have higher national insurance and higher corporation tax because that will make it harder for us to attract the investment we need in the U.K. It will be harder to generate those new jobs.”
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“And I want the U.S. economy to be successful as well. I want the European economy to be successful as well. I want freedom-loving democracies to succeed,” she continued.
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Critics have slammed her for the move, characterizing the cuts as ones “for the rich” during a looming recession. Truss has repeatedly brushed off the criticisms, saying she is ushering in a “a decade of dynamism.”
“Growth means families have more money in their pockets, more people can work in highly paid jobs and more businesses can invest in their future. It provides more money to fund our public services, like schools, the NHS and the police,” the U.K. prime minister wrote in an essay published by The Mail on Sunday.
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“We will be unapologetic in this pursuit… everything we do will be tested against whether it helps our economy to grow or holds it back,” she added.
