The Finance Ministry of the United Kingdom worries that the government’s budget deficit this year could reach a record 337 billion pounds as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc to the British economy. This development is cited by an internal government document as reported by the Telegraph newspaper on Tuesday.
If worse comes to worst and the economy fails to recover, the British government could face a stupendous 557 billion pounds deficit, a far turnaround from the previously forecasted 55 billion pounds for the financial year 2020-2021 as recently as March, according to the Telegraph.
With no measures addressing the government borrowing, officials warned the ministers that the country could face a debt crisis. This could force the government to make 25-30 billion pounds of budget cuts or even tax hikes.
The newspaper cited an anonymous finance ministry source who is privy to a government document containing a summary of policy options. The source also bared that no policy decisions had been taken.