Amid lackluster prospects for economic growth, the British government announced it would cut taxes for workers ahead of a general election this year. It would take the rate for about 27 million employees down to 8 percent, and follows a two-percentage-point cut announced less than four months ago. Together, the cuts would save the average employee about 900 pounds ($1,145) a year, Mr. Hunt said. The rate was also cut for self-employed workers. “We can now help families not just with temporary cost-of-living support but with permanent cuts in taxation,” Mr. Hunt, the chancellor of the Exchequer, said in Parliament.
