Contents | Executive summary | How to obtain this publication |
Additional information | Back to main page | The following OECD
assessment and recommendations summarise chapter 2 of the
Economic Survey of United Kingdom published on 29 June 2009. The
government deficit is widening rapidly and is expected to reach
around 14% of GDP in 2010 according to OECD projections, which
is helping to cushion the downturn. Moreover, support for the
financial system has led to direct fiscal costs and
substantially added to implicit government liabilities. The UK
authorities have provisionally estimated that the losses may lie
within a potential range from 1½ to 3½ per cent of GDP and the
authorities have included the upper end of this range in their
projections for borrowing and debt, as the basis for setting
fiscal policy. After around the turn of the century, the
underlying fiscal position weakened more than anticipated, while
there was some subsequent improvement, particularly in tax
receipts. Tax receipts have been sig