Tax Data Misstep Leads to Inflation Rate Error

An error in British car tax data provided by the government resulted in the overstatement of the official consumer price inflation rate by 0.1 percentage points for the year leading up to April, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported a miscalculation in the consumer price inflation rate, attributed to erroneous car tax data supplied by the government.

This error led to an overstatement of the inflation rate by 0.1 percentage points for the year ending in April, the ONS revealed on Thursday.

Accurate and reliable data is crucial for monitoring economic performance, and this incident highlights the need for rigorous cross-checking of government-supplied statistics.

(With inputs from agencies.)