The chancellor disappoints, but he’s a man with a tax plan

The Treasury did not want the Spring Statement to be a mini budget, but it was, and it fell well short of expectations, damaging Rishi Sunak’s reputation. The question is whether the chancellor’s tax plan, published alongside the statement, will open the way to meaningful tax reform over the medium term, or whether it just provided justification for his decision to pre-announce a cut in income tax.