Independent costings needed for tough political decisions

An independent institution needs to examine party costings.

Mon, 01 Jul 2024

Last week, I noted the need for an Independent Fiscal Institution.One key reason was an Independent Fiscal Institution's (IFI) independence regarding the appropriateness of assumptions used in fiscal forecasts.Anyone can make up a set of projections; their use and validity are critically dependent on the assumptions underpinning them, which need to be robust.One such assumption is productivity growth. It drives economic growth and government revenue.The Treasury has acknowledged their 1% long-run productivity growth assumption, which i...

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