JOHANNESBURG, Jan 30 Reuters Britain39;s government should refrain from making further tax cuts given the longterm strains on the country39;s public finances, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund IMF said on Tuesday.

PierreOlivier Gourinchas said Britain faced big spending demands to fund health and social care and the country39;s transition to net zero while it also needed to keep debt contained.

In that context, we would advise against further discretionary tax cuts, Gourinchas told reporters in Johannesburg after the IMF published updated forecasts for the global economy.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his finance minister Jeremy Hunt have suggested they will cut taxes further, possibly as early as a March 6 budget statement. Sunak39;s Conservative Party is trailing the opposition Labour Party in opinion polls with a national election expected to take place later this year.

Reporting by David Milliken in London; writing by William Schomberg

Source Reuters