Finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng refused to say, if he would stick with his plan not to raise business taxes as media reported Prime Minister Liz Truss was rethinking an economic program that plunged markets into turmoil.
Truss’s plan, announced last month, has caused a rout in the government bond market, with some investors and Conservative Party lawmakers calling on her to reverse a plan for 43 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts, including a move to hold corporation tax at just 19%.
Kwarteng is in Washington where he is attending a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Asked specifically about whether there would be a reversal of the corporation tax plans, he replied: “My total focus … is on delivering on the mini-budget and making sure that we get growth back into our economy.”
His remarks came as discussions were under way over whether to scrap some parts of the plan, and a UK newspaper said Truss was now considering raising corporation tax after all.
Truss’s Downing Street office has repeatedly said the government was not changing course on the plan.