LONDON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a tax cut on electricity bills to help households get through this winter, the government said on Tuesday.
An official statement said the government will scrap the 5-percent value-added tax on household electricity bills from Oct. 1, a measure expected to reduce the annual electricity bill for a typical household by around 45 pounds (60.2 U.S. dollars) under the price cap of Ofgem, the government regulator for the electricity and natural gas markets.
The tax cut, funded by the cancellation of the Digital ID programme, comes on top of a 150-pound (200.67 dollars) reduction in energy bills announced in the previous Budget.
"Westminster has not been working for people for too long, with families struggling with the cost of living," Burnham said, pledging to make changes. "I said I wanted to give people breathing space, and that's what I'm announcing on my second day as prime minister," he added.
On Monday, British Labour Party leader Burnham officially took office as the seventh prime minister since 2016. He pledged sweeping political and economic changes to benefit the country and the people before unveiling his new cabinet. ■
