Look behind the headlines for the real story on UK trade diplomacy April 10, 2012 ALMOST two years ago, David Cameron used his first tour of the United States to announce a major change in foreign policy. He outlined plans to refocus British diplomacy on promoting UK businesses abroad – with diplomats told to use “every opportunity” to win orders for domestic firms. Many commentators may view the Prime Minister’s [...]
Maximising tax revenue is good for politicians – but not the rest of us April 10, 2012 HIGH taxes encourage black markets. For example, ever increasing “sin taxes” mean that a large portion of the cigarettes and alcohol consumed in Britain is now bought in the black market, where these taxes need not be paid. The Taxpayers’ Alliance complains that this costs the government £7bn a year in lost tax revenues. Implicit [...]
Bright ideas from the NHS can earn hospitals billions April 10, 2012 MUCH of the debate – and emotion – that surrounded the passage of the Health and Social Care Act focused on the extent to which the private sector should be allowed to compete to provide services to the NHS. It is a good question, and the public will benefit from some elements of additional competition [...]
As Facebook announces its $1bn purchase of Instagram, is it really worth the money? April 10, 2012 YES Steve Dinneen What could be a bigger sign of a bubble than paying $1bn for a company with no revenue model? At all. It’s not even really a company – it’s an app that makes your photos look like Polaroid snaps (Polaroid being a company that has twice filed for bankruptcy). Bonkers, right? But [...]
RAPID RESPONSES April 10, 2012 A taxing dilemma [Re: Why Britain’s income tax is already astonishingly progressive, yesterday] Anthony J Evans is wrong on several counts. Progressive taxation is not where the richest pay a greater percentage of the total tax bill, but where they pay proportionately more compared to their income. The top 1 per cent of taxpayers take [...]
Would YOU do the right thing? A business ethics quiz with a twist April 9, 2012 IMAGINE you return from the Easter break to face the following dilemma. You are a non-executive director of a firm of fund managers. One of your firm’s star managers, Brian Poole, after spells as a fund manager with a number of competitors, has now been with your firm for seven years. Due to his consistent [...]
Bad numeracy is a black mark for British prospects April 9, 2012 LAST month saw the launch of a small charity with a big ambition – to improve the state of numeracy in the UK. National Numeracy aims to draw attention to a problem known about for decades but which, despite periodic hand-wringing, we’ve not yet fixed. Nearly 17m people in England – almost half the working-age [...]
Why Britain’s income tax system is already astonishingly progressive April 9, 2012 IF YOU want to say that something is too high or too low, you need to know its current level first. For instance, imagine a survey that suggests a majority of the public wants government to increase spending on defence. I would be immediately sceptical of such findings for two reasons. Firstly, the responder is [...]
After many years in a bull market, is it still a good time to stake your wealth on gold? April 9, 2012 YES Tom Clougherty Gold isn’t a traditional investment good: it is an alternative to paper money. From that perspective, its allure is all too clear. The purchasing power of gold is as good now as it was in 1900. The pound lost 99 per cent of its value over the same period. As a store [...]
RAPID responses April 9, 2012 Crime mustn’t pay [Re: We need a more radical answer to London’s crime-fighting nightmare, Wednesday] Jamie Whyte believes attaching revenue to policing would reduce crime. He hasn’t considered the wider consequences of a purely financially motivated police force: more corruption, greater reluctance to report crimes and reduced trust from the public. The police’s important impartial [...]