British finance minister John Healey may accept a smaller fiscal buffer to reduce tax rises in next month’s budget as investors signaled the gilt market would not be spooked by a more modest headroom target, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
• The Treasury and Downing Street are debating whether to set a lower buffer in the budget than the government’s fiscal watchdog forecast in March, the report said, citing people familiar with the discussions.
• One person involved in the government’s discussions suggested that headroom of £15 billion ($19.85 billion) would be enough, while another suggested closer to £20 billion, and a third person said no figure was yet being targeted, the report added.
• Healey, who is set to present his budget next month, is under pressure to show how he can meet his fiscal rules without raising the main taxes.
• The Treasury declined to comment on the report.
($1 = 0.7556 pounds)
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan）
