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City executives unimpressed by Hammond’s ‘modest’ Budget

City commentators shrug their shoulders as the Chancellor delivers a less radical fiscal package than many were anticipating

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond waves holding the Budget Box as he leaves 11 Downing Street in London, on October 29, 2018, before presenting the Autumn budget to Parliament
British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond waves holding the Budget Box as he leaves 11 Downing Street in London, on October 29, 2018, before presenting the Autumn budget to Parliament Photo: Getty Images

A mixed bag of policies from UK Chancellor Philip Hammond in the government’s Autumn Budget left City commentators divided as to its impact, and unimpressed with one of its flagship measures, a new tax on internet retailers such as Amazon.

In the weeks running up to the Budget, the last such fiscal set-piece before the UK leaves the European Union, commentators had anticipated possible tax rises to pay for the government’s promised “end to austerity”.

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