Wednesday November 12, 04:22 PM
UPDATE 1-UK Treasury to present pre-budget report on Nov 24
LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - British finance minister Alistair Darling will present his second pre-budget report to parliament on Nov. 24, the Treasury said on Wednesday.
Analysts expect Darling to ramp up government borrowing and
slash his growth forecasts to show the economy is shrinking.
Speculation has grown in recent weeks that Darling could find room to cut taxes, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown encouraging governments around the world to use fiscal policy to stave off a steep downturn.
In March, Darling forecast the economy would grow by about 2 percent this year and about 2.25 percent in 2009 but the financial crisis and widespread evidence of weakness has left those forecasts looking increasingly unrealistic.
Both Darling and Prime Minister Gordon Brown have signalled they are likely to suspend the government's limits on borrowing as tax receipts fall and social security rises in the downturn.
Darling said in March he expected government borrowing to hit 43 billion pounds this financial year, but public sector net borrowing in the six months to September hit record levels above 37 billion pounds.
(Editing by Patrick Graham) Keywords: BRITAIN PREBUDGET
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