Will this stop you purchasing items other than food other than food untill its implemented?

http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Sat...icleController

Credit Crunch News: VAT cut expected to be a feature of pre-budget report Sunday, 23 November 2008
Every household in the country was today promised immediate support to get through the economic downturn amid growing expectations of a cut in Value Added Tax (VAT).

A reduction of VAT from 17.5% to 15% was emerging as a likely centrepiece of tomorrow's Pre-Budget Report (PBR) as Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling signalled they were "ready to help".

The Government is expected to pump between £15 and £20 billion into the economy in a Keynesian-style bid to spend Britain out of the downturn.








As well as the VAT change, which would cost £12.5 billion, moves are thought to include further tax cuts targeted at the least well off.

Other options include postponing the introduction of increased vehicle excise duty for older vehicles and taxpayer-funded guarantees on loans to small businesses.

There are also suggestions of a new three month grace period for mortgage holders struggling to keep up with their repayments before repossession proceedings kick in.

Further efficiency savings in the public sector will be announced, allowing some expenditure to be used more constructively to fight the recession.

But debt is predicted to soar to more than £120 billion, fuelling concerns about the tax rises and spending cuts that may be necessary later.

Mr Darling promised to set out clearly how the PBR's actions would be paid for.

"Every household will get support now - to help them through the difficult period ahead," he wrote in the Sunday Mirror.

"Worried mortgage holders will get help and I shall do what I can to help those who lose their jobs. And I will state exactly how we intend to pay for the help we are providing now."

He explicitly acknowledged Britain was "moving into a recession" but sought to strike an upbeat note.

"I will not play down the economic difficulties but equally I am confident that with sensible and responsible measures they can be overcome," he added.

Tory leader David Cameron has come out against the Government's proposed "fiscal stimulus" - higher spending funded by borrowing to spur the economy back to strength.

But the Prime Minister attacked the Conservative "do nothing" approach, warning that failure to intervene only prolongs the pain of recession.

"If we do not act now, the downturn will be longer and more severe," he wrote in the News of the World.

"A prolonged recession means people out of work for longer, more repossessions, and businesses taking longer to start growing again.

"We all remember what happened in the 1980s and 1990s when the Conservative Government sat on its hands and just let people fend for themselves.

"It took us years to recover and much of the damage could have been avoided had the Government stepped in to help people out. We will not repeat those mistakes."

Mr Brown added: "I want every household facing difficulty at this time to know we are ready to help and on their side."

The Prime Minister will take his message to business leaders at the CBI's annual conference tomorrow.

He will seek to draw parallels between the Government's actions and US President-elect Barack Obama's plans for office next year.

"President-elect Obama is making clear that he is planning a significant additional fiscal stimulus when he takes office," Mr Brown will say.

He will go on that the world followed Britain's lead in its emergency support for ailing banks - now world leaders must coordinate their efforts on monetary and fiscal policy.

"Doing nothing is not an option," he will say, calling for demand to be supported "with all of the instruments at our disposal".

In pointed contrast to new Tory plans to diverge from Government spending in 2010/11 in response to the downturn, Mr Brown will insist it is essential to maintain long-term investment plans.

In a riposte to Mr Cameron, the Prime Minister will say: "To fail to act now would be not only a failure of economic policy but a failure of leadership.

"Doing 'too little, too late' would mean more damage, more deterioration. We need timely action now to prevent permanent damage to the future.

"It would be the ultimate failure of leadership to sit on our hands and to let this recession take its course."