Last week, CapX published an essay from Karl Williams throwing the fiscal challenges posed by Britain’s ageing population into sharp relief. To recap: the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that over the next 50 years, public spending on the over-65s will rise from 10.1% of GDP to 21.3% of GDP, driven by the rising cost […]
The latest international tax competitiveness rankings, published annually by the US-based Tax Foundation, came out this week. As usual, they did not make for pretty reading in Britain. In 2023, the UK has slipped three places to 30th on the overall ranking – out of 38 OECD countries. That puts us comfortably behind our G7 […]
Given the fiscal and political constraints he was operating under, Jeremy Hunt delivered a very good Budget today. The policy measures he announced were overwhelmingly welcome ones – and where I feel disappointment, it’s only because I wish he had gone further. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing nasty lurking in the fine […]
Tax reform is one of the main levers the government can pull in its quest to boost the economy over the long run. Improving a country’s tax system can attract business and investment, encourage entrepreneurship and work, and eliminate deadweight costs that hold back growth. It was encouraging to hear Chancellor Jeremy Hunt say last […]
Well, it could have been worse. That was my initial reaction to the Autumn Statement – relief brought on by the Chancellor steering clear of the worst policy options that were aired ahead of the latest fiscal event. On the overall stance of fiscal policy, I was worried Jeremy Hunt would tighten too much as […]
Before the dramatic events of the last few weeks, Britain’s tax system lagged well behind the competition. And now the situation is even worse. Without carefully designed reform, the tax system is likely to be a big hindrance to our growth prospects in the years ahead. These are some of the obvious conclusions to be […]
Most weren’t expecting fireworks from Friday’s mini-Budget. Experience suggested it would be a straightforward affair, making good on key campaign pledges – cancelling the corporation tax increase, undoing the National Insurance hike – but leaving other big policy decisions for a later date. If rumours circulating over the past few days are to be believed, […]
‘My goal is to reduce taxes,’ said Chancellor Rishi Sunak during Wednesday’s Budget. And, in fairness, he did announce a cut to domestic Air Passenger Duty, freezes in fuel and alcohol duties, and a variety of welcome business rates reliefs. People will argue about whether the Chancellor’s ‘rabbit out of the hat’ – an 8p […]
Today sees the launch of a new joint report from the Centre for Policy Studies and the US-based Tax Foundation – A Framework for the Future: Reforming the UK Tax System. The goal of the report is twofold: first, to assess the competitiveness of Britain’s tax system versus those of other OECD countries; and second, to […]
The UK tax system isn’t nearly as competitive as we like to think. And rumoured tax increases would make matters much worse. Those are two of the key takeaways from the 2020 International Tax Competitiveness Index, released today by the US-based Tax Foundation. Let’s look at the status quo first. On this year’s Index, the […]
On Tuesday, Shreya Nanda of the IPPR argued in these pages that capital gains tax rates should be aligned with income tax rates. She framed this as an issue of fairness – why should those who get their income from work pay a higher tax rate than those who get their income from investment? – […]
Former Brexit Secretary – and now Conservative leadership candidate – Dominic Raab made headlines last week when he suggested that the government should “cut the basic rate of income tax by a penny a year, as Nigel Lawson did in the 1980s”. Echoing a proposal made by the Centre for Policy Studies, he also said […]
With everything going on in Westminster at the moment, it’s easy to forget that Brexit was meant to be about taking back control. Some people dismiss that idea as mere campaign rhetoric, of course. Others see it as little more than jingoism. But in truth, the words “take back control” encapsulated an important principle: that […]
Should the Chancellor raise taxes for everyone earning more than £37,500 in order to fund a no-strings-attached giveaway to the unemployed? John McDonnell appears to think so: on Monday, he welcomed a think-tank report proposing precisely that as “just the kind of innovative thinking we need on how to fix the imbalances and problems of […]
Slowly, relentlessly, the left is mobilising against the gig economy. This month, John McDonnell promised to give flexible workers the same rights as employees — thereby undermining the entire model. Meanwhile, Sadiq Khan is loudly demanding the right to clip Uber’s wings by limiting the number of its drivers in London. On Monday, Khan’s campaign got […]
In Westminster yesterday afternoon, the Initiative for Free Trade and the Cato Institute launched The Ideal US-UK Free Trade Agreement, an unashamedly free market take on the question of Anglo-American trade after Brexit. Unusually for a think tank–inspired publication, this one included a 200-page draft legal text—a model trade deal that negotiators could pick up […]
The Resolution Foundation’s suggestion that every 25-year-old be given a £10,000 “citizen’s inheritance”, to be spent on education, housing, or a business venture — or else saved for retirement — received a great deal of coverage earlier this week. Less attention was paid to how such a grant would be paid for: namely, by replacing […]
