Darling cuts VAT to 15 percent

LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor Alistair Darling cut value-added tax by 2.5 percentage points to 15 percent on Monday, the lowest allowed under European Union law, in a bid to kick-start the economy. The cut in the sales tax is estimated to cost around 12.5 billion pounds a year.

Darling said the cut would take effect from next Monday, December 1, and last for 13 months, thereby providing an incentive to consumers to bring forward purchases.

For full coverage of Darling's pre-budget statement, click on: here