UK tax burden will soar to highest level for 30 years, warns IFS

Slower growth after Brexit vote and ageing population will hit budget over next decade, says leading thinktank

The government is on course to impose steep cuts in public spending and increase taxes by the end of the decade to their highest level in 30 years to combat the UK's persistent budget deficit.

But slower economic growth after the Brexit vote and lower than expected tax receipts will still leave the UK with one of the largest shortfalls in public spending in the developed world, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Related: IFS warns of biggest squeeze on pay for 70 years over Brexit