Jeremy Hunt has room for £20bn tax cuts after borrowing halves year on year

December deficit is less than expected at £14bn – the lowest for the month since 2019

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A halving of UK government borrowing over the past year has created scope for Jeremy Hunt to make tax cuts worth about £20bn in his March budget.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that higher VAT and income tax receipts coupled with lower spending resulted in a deficit of £7.8bn in December 2023 – the lowest for the month since the pre-pandemic year of 2019.