More heavily trailed than a Hollywood blockbuster, the government's fiscal package went on general release this week. Despite the hype, it lived up to expectations, though not in the way that Gordon Brown and his chancellor, Alistair Darling, had hoped. What caused a sharp intake of breath when Mr Darling announced their plans on November 24th was not the size of the much-vaunted fiscal stimulus designed to mitigate the recession. Rather, it was the sheer quantity of money that the Treasury will need to borrow in the years ahead.rnMr Darling's measures sounded impressive. The centrepiece was a temporary reduction in the main rate of value-added tax (vat), charged on most goods and services, from 17.5% to 15%. Lowering the rate from December 1st until the end of next year will cost the exchequer ￡12.4 billion ($19 billion), worth 0.8% of GDP.
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