Jeremy Hunt, the British chancellor of the exchequer (finance minister) since Oct. 14, 2022, announced that the government no longer intends to introduce a scheme to eliminate value-added tax (VAT) for foreign tourists. Hunt succeeded Kwasi Kwarteng, who was forced to resign after only 38 days in office after announcing a series of tax cuts that sent the pound sterling plummeting to a record low against the U.S. dollar amid concerns about Britain’s public finances.
Hunt announced that almost all of the tax measures Kwarteng outlined in a so-called “mini budget” on Sept. 23, including the “new VAT-free shopping scheme for non-U.K. visitors,” would be reversed, pointing out that the tax measures had not yet been approved by the parliament
