Britain to pay families £100 for energy costs

The UK government will pay around 20 million households £100 each to help ease energy costs. This support is expected to cost the state approximately £2.6 billion.

The government will not raise fuel duty and will extend the five-pence discount introduced in 2022 until at least July. It also plans to scrap the fixed-rate portion of the gas levy.

To fund the additional spending, the tax on bank profits will be increased from 3% to 6% for 15 months, a move expected to bring in around £1.5 billion for the treasury. Starting in 2027, platforms like Amazon, eBay and Temu will themselves become responsible for collecting VAT from sellers on their sites.

At the same time, the government has lowered its 2027 economic growth forecast from 1.6% to 1%. State financial institutions will receive more than an additional £20 billion to support projects in artificial intelligence, defense and green energy.

Source: Investing.com