Tags : england
UK’s Brown Would Sell Channel Tunnel To Cut Debt
London (AHN) – Prime Minister Gordon Brown may sell the Channel Tunnel, along with other high-profile government assets, in hopes of cutting in half the national debt.
The assets are valued at $25 billon dollars.
Brown made the announcement Monday while addressing economists on a London business television network.
Britain’s deficit is expected to be near $259 billion this year, the highest in the Group of 20 nations.
Brown wants to halve the budget deficit in four years. His projections call for raising 16 billion pounds through asset sales and 14 billion pounds from tax increases, crackdowns on tax evaders and spending cuts.
Under his proposal, the national government would sell a betting company, a student loan portfolio, the rail link between England and France and a 33 percent stake in a uranium processor, Urenco.
An additional 13 billion pounds would come from the sale of assets by local governments.
The assets that may be put up for sale will be appraised in November by Bank of England Governor Mervyn King using new economic forecasts.
The sale of Urenco might be fraught with the most problems, as national security concerns would have to be addressed. Urenco is one of the world’s largest uranium enrichment firms. Co-owners include firms in The Netherlands and Germany.
The budget deficit is expected to be a major issue in parliamentary elections that must be held no later than June.
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