Burnham to Scrap VAT on Electricity Bills

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to abolish value-added tax (VAT) on household electricity bills from 1 October. The measure is intended to deliver on one of his campaign promises to ease the cost of living.

According to a statement from Downing Street, the resulting revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year will be offset by cancelling the government's £1.8bn ($2.4bn) digital ID programme.

Burnham had previously announced that one of his first acts in office would be to cancel the digital identification project. The programme envisaged introducing a digital ID for all workers to help curb illegal immigration. However, a cross-party parliamentary committee described it as a fiasco.

The new prime minister said he wanted to act quickly to demonstrate that British politics could work again and improve living standards after years of stagnation.

“Westminster has not been working for people for too long, with families struggling with the cost of living. That needs to change,” Burnham declared.

(Reuters, bak)