BoE's Haldane: If tax rises are needed, pollution taxes should be considered

"It is not very unusual for UK debt to be over 100% of GDP in the 19th and the 20th century, servicing costs are now much lower," Andy Haldane, the Chief Economist of the Bank of England (BoE), said on Monday, as reported by Reuters.

"Growth, rather than paying down debt has been the most successful way of reducing UK debt-to-GDP ratio," Haldane added. "If tax rises are needed, pollution taxes should be considered."

Market reaction

The GBP/USD pair showed no immediate reaction to these remarks and was last seen posting small daily gains at 1.3168.