Legal Definitions - Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is a government minister in England who is responsible for managing the country's finances. This includes controlling how much money the government spends and how much money it collects in taxes.

Historically, the Chancellor used to sit in the Court of Exchequer, which was a court that dealt with financial matters.

For example, if the government wants to build a new hospital, the Chancellor of the Exchequer would need to decide how much money to allocate for the project. They would also need to figure out how to pay for it, either by raising taxes or by borrowing money.

Another example would be if the government wants to reduce taxes for a certain group of people. The Chancellor of the Exchequer would need to figure out how much money the government would lose in revenue and whether it is feasible to make up for that loss in other ways.