Tax credits and infrastructure: Osborne's spending review rabbits in the hat
by Larry Elliott from on (#VRH7)
Changes to how Office for Budget Responsibility calculates future finances gives chancellor another 27bn - but will their assumptions be proved correct?
Chancellors love to spring surprises. Nothing gives them more pleasure than to pull a rabbit out of a hat, usually right at the end of a budget speech.
George Osborne went one better on Wednesday. With a flourish, he conjured up not one rabbit but three.
Related: OBR admits uncertainty over 27bn windfall behind tax credit U-turn
Related: What does the spending review look like?
Related: OBR hands lucky George Osborne a 27bn get-out-of-jail-free card
Related: Spending review 2015: things you may have missed in the small print
Continue reading...