The UK’s vote to leave the EU marks the beginning of 1 of the most important political and economic shifts in modern British history. The process of leaving the EU is likely to have wide-ranging effects over the coming years.

Here is a round-up of some of the top stories following Brexit:

2020 surplus Scrapped
Chancellor George Osborne announced that he will be abandoning his target to restore government finances to a surplus by 2020 following the result of the EU referendum.

In his speech he said that the referendum is expected to “produce a negative economic shock to our economy” and how we respond will determine the impact on our jobs and growth.

“We must provide fiscal credibility, continuing to be tough on the deficit while being realistic about achieving a surplus by the end of the decade.”

Corporation Tax
Following his speech Osborne has pledged to cut corporation tax to encourage businesses to continue investment and trading with European countries.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the chancellor said he would reduce the tax rate to 15% – the lowest rate of any major economy.

Economic Uncertainty
Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England has addressed 3 types of uncertainty that will affect economic performance following Brexit, and said that some adjustments may prove difficult and will take time but remained optimistic on building the economy:

“The transition from the initial shock to the restructuring and then building of the UK economy will be much easier because of our solid policy frameworks.”

Property Funds
The property sector has reacted to the vote with a number of businesses and managers cutting value on their existing portfolios.

Legal & General (10%), Foreign & Colonial (5%) and Kames (5%) have all cut the value of their property funds following the referendum result.

Experts have claimed that around £5 billion of commercial property could be up for sale due to Brexit.