<p>The Government - or its successor - will need fresh tax increases or spending cuts worth an extra £20 billion a year by the end of the next Parliament, if it is to expect to repair the public finances as planned in November's Pre-Budget Report, according to the 2009 IFS Green Budget. Even if it acts, public sector debt may well not return to pre-crisis levels for more than 20 years. </p>

    Authors

    Carl Emmerson
    Carl Emmerson

    Deputy Director

    Carl, a Deputy Director, is an editor of the IFS Green Budget, an expert on the UK pension system and sits on the Social Security Advisory Committee.

    Person graphic

    Robert Chote

    Jonathan Shaw
    Jonathan Shaw

    Research Fellow Financial Conduct Authority

    Jonathan is a Research Fellow at the IFS and a Technical Specialist in the Economics Department at the Financial Conduct Authority.

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    David Miles

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