Latest news with #fiscalwatchdog
Fox News
2 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
DeSantis taps Florida's 'most conservative senator' for state CFO
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia to serve as the Sunshine State's chief financial officer. The governor described Ingoglia as "the most conservative senator in the state of Florida," while delivering remarks on Wednesday. Ingoglia pledged to work on property tax relief. "I am going to work hand and glove, side by side, with this governor to make sure that we get rid of property taxes on homestead exemption and offer real property tax relief to" Floridians, he declared. Former state CFO Jimmy Patronis ran successfully for U.S. Congress, winning the seat in Florida's 1st Congressional District that had previously been occupied by Rep. Matt Gaetz. "I'm honored to be appointed by @GovRonDeSantis as Florida's next Chief Financial Officer. Over the next year and a half, my number one priority is meaningful property tax relief. I won't rest until we find a solution for Florida taxpayers," Ingoglia wrote on on X. "I will be an unrelenting, proactive fiscal watchdog for our state and protect your tax dollars against waste, fraud and abuse. If insurance companies don't live up to their contractual obligations Floridians will know because I will call them out," he continued. "We will shine a light on bad actors, stop fraud, and bring down rates. Floridians deserves accountability. I'm here to deliver it. We will NOT let Florida become New York or Californa. Florida is the most amazing place to live. Let's keep her free, strong, and thriving."
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Red Wall MPs urge Starmer to rein in OBR
Dozens of Red Wall Labour MPs have urged Sir Keir Starmer to rein in the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The Red Wall Group, made up of about 35 backbenchers in Labour's northern and Midlands heartlands, said estimates by the government's fiscal watchdog must not be treated as a 'crystal ball'. It comes after a number of high-profile errors in OBR forecasts, which have included underestimating inflation shocks and overestimating the Government's borrowing room by tens of billions of pounds. Sir Keir attacked the watchdog in the spring for not factoring in the effects of Labour's back to work measures, forcing him to announce further controversial welfare cuts at the last minute. Jo White, the MP for Bassetlaw and chairman of the Red Wall Group, urged the Prime Minister to acknowledge the OBR's 'limitations' and attach less significance to its twice-yearly forecasts. Ms White told Politico: 'Red Wall constituents are crying out for change and there is so much potential in what the government is doing, be it in our 10-year NHS plan, infrastructure investment or industrial strategy. 'But to deliver national renewal we need policy and fiscal stability and the OBR has a vitally important role to play in that. 'Fine tuning policy to fit a central estimate that we know will be inaccurate is not the way to do that. To recognise the value of the OBR, we must acknowledge their limitations.' Andy MacNae, the Labour MP for Rossendale and Darwen, added that the OBR should produce one forecast a year instead of the current two. 'OBR forecasting is an invaluable tool that must be used properly,' Mr McNae said. 'It provides a rough guide – a well-informed guess – as to where the economy might be in four years' time. But the OBR has never claimed to have a crystal ball and we shouldn't treat it as if it does.' A Cabinet minister defended the role of the OBR on Monday when asked about the backbenchers' demands. Challenged on whether its numbers should be 'less prominent' in the government's thinking, Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, told Times Radio: 'The Office [for] Budget Responsibility plays an important part in being the official forecaster for government. 'In the old days the Treasury would take its own internal view and then respond to its own internal view but this government's committed to that being an independent process done by independent experts.' Earlier this year, an independent review found the OBR was 'vulnerable to bias' because it relies on assumptions made by excessively optimistic politicians. Liz Truss, the former prime minister, blamed the forecaster in part for the unravelling of her mini-budget and has since called for it to be abolished. The Prime Minister criticised the OBR in April after it said his cuts to the benefits system would only save £3.4 billion – not the £5 billion the government had hoped. The watchdog's assessment meant that Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, had to announce extra welfare cuts the week after Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, announced cuts to sickness and disability benefits.
Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Times
Labour MPs tell Rachel Reeves: Don't rely so much on OBR forecasts
Rachel Reeves should stop relying so heavily on the fiscal watchdog because its forecasts are not a 'crystal ball', a group of Labour MPs has said. The chancellor is under pressure to reduce the influence of forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) over tax and spend decisions. The Red Wall caucus of more than 40 Labour MPs has backed calls to 'adjust the way we report and respond to forecasts' and to 'stop treating single-point estimates as gospel'. The MPs also backed calls to cut the forecasts produced by the OBR from two to one a year. • Cabinet minister refuses to rule out wealth taxes in budget Andy MacNae, MP for Rossendale & Darwen in Lancashire, said the OBR provided only a 'rough guide' as to where the economy might be in four years. 'But the OBR has never claimed to have a crystal ball and we shouldn't treat it as if it does,' he said. MacNae pointed to a report from the forecaster in 2023 in which it admitted its 'central forecast' number 'has virtually no chance of being correct'. In March the OBR downgraded the economic effect of Labour's welfare plans before the spring statement, leading to last-minute cuts to benefits totalling £500 million. The following month Sir Keir Starmer criticised the watchdog for the assessment, saying he 'personally struggles' with the way it drew up its forecasts. The prime minister later dropped the reforms to disability benefits after a backbench rebellion. Reeves has indicated that she would consider adopting a different approach to the OBR. This month she said she was 'looking at how the OBR works', adding: 'The International Monetary Fund has made some recommendations about how to deliver better fiscal policymaking and obviously I take those seriously.' In May the IMF said the chancellor should move down to one OBR estimate each year, which it said would prevent the government from responding to short-term market demands for more cuts or tax rises. According to the OBR in March, Reeves recorded £9.9 billion in 'fiscal headroom' — the flexibility in a government's financial plans. The IMF said moving away from the twice-yearly assessment would 'de-emphasise' the importance of the headroom in policymaking, as well as bring the UK into line with other countries. Jo White, the MP for Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire, who chairs the Red Wall caucus, said: 'To deliver on national renewal we need policy and fiscal stability and the OBR has a vitally important role to play in that. 'Fine-tuning policy to fit a central estimate that we know will be inaccurate is not the way to do that. To recognise the value of the OBR, we must acknowledge their limitations.' Labour strengthened the OBR's powers in the Budget Responsibility Act, one of the first laws passed after the election. This was designed to reassure the markets that Labour would not act like Liz Truss, the former prime minister who bypassed the OBR when she and Kwasi Kwarteng, her chancellor, held a mini-budget. Any softened approach to the watchdog risks spooking the markets and making government borrowing more expensive, one government source said. However, others close to Reeves believe tweaks to the OBR's treatment would be accepted by the markets as necessary.
Bloomberg
11-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Gilts Risk More Turmoil as Swift Sellers Replace Steady Buyers
The changing face of the UK bond market is making gilts a source of vulnerability for the government at a moment when it most needs stability. This week alone, Britain's central bank and fiscal watchdog have both warned of the dangers of a structural change in demand that leaves the bonds at risk of more extreme moves, or even fire sales.
National Post
11-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
Canada Infrastructure Bank on track to be $20 billion short of 2028 investment target: PBO
Article content The PBO expects disbursements by 2027-28 to come in two per cent lower — or $350 million less — than the CIB's most recent projections. Article content Based on the pace of investments to date, the fiscal watchdog sees the infrastructure bank hitting its disbursement goal of $35 billion by 2034-35 — seven years after its deadline. Article content The PBO says that, if it were using financial closes as the benchmark, it would predict the bank will hit that goal by 2029-30. Article content A spokesperson for the CIB said in a media statement that the infrastructure bank has 'a lot to be proud of' so far. The CIB has now invested in 100 projects over its eight years in operation, with seven completed. Article content The spokesperson noted that projects typically take three to five years of funding before completion, which is why the CIB's financial close figures will lag behind disbursements. Article content Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada said in an emailed statement that the bank 'received statutory funding of $35 billion to increase investment in infrastructure in Canada, with no set timeline to commit these funds.' Article content It said the bank 'issues capital to project owners progressively, according to project milestones determined in its contracts with recipients, and as such does not have set disbursement timelines.' Article content The government's long-term infrastructure plan states the bank is 'responsible for delivering $35 billion on a cash basis over 11 years.'
