Sin taxes on smoking and sugar harm the people they’re supposed to help November 25, 2021 According to an economic study published last month, 90 per cent of all “sin taxes” on tobacco, alcohol and soft drinks in the US are paid by just 20 per cent of households. Eighty per cent of the taxes are paid by just ten per cent of households. This tax burden tends to fall disproportionately [...]
If we’re coughing up for the social care levy, the reforms need to build new foundations November 25, 2021 Once again social care is in the headlines and, once again, it’s about arguments and bad news. The government’s proposals for a cap on a person’s lifetime care costs from 2023 met a lukewarm reception when they were first announced in September. People were looking for more targeted investment and wider reform that would make [...]
Lush’s social media boycott won’t cut it for big tech November 24, 2021 Lush, the trendy cosmetics and soap company, has announced that until social media giants provide a “safer environment for users”, they will close all of the company’s “brand, retail and people accounts” on certain platforms. Given recent revelations from Facebook whistleblowers, this move, which could dent Lush’s bottom line, is laudable. But this knight in [...]
A rich tradition of English law has always kept our EU rivals on their toes November 24, 2021 It’s the economy, stupid, was the refrain coined by James Carville to help Bill Clinton win his 1992 presidential campaign. The US was experiencing an economic recession and the incumbent president, George HW Bush, was seen as out of touch. Yet the levers for prosperity are few in number. The main ones are tax rates, [...]
Think petrol panic buying was bad? Wait til you see what’s (not) in store this Christmas November 24, 2021 It is that time of year again: ice skating, cold, clear blue skies, fairy lights decorating Oxford Street, and fears about having enough Christmas toys on the shelves. There are two key themes to this year’s scare stories. First, supply problems could lead to a deluge of children missing out on the most popular toys. [...]
China’s persecution of Peng Shuai is shocking, but Hong Kongers aren’t surprised November 24, 2021 Few incidents have brought more public scrutiny about the exercise of power in China than the abuse of tennis champion Peng Shuai. The former doubles world No1 spoke out about violence against women publicly and accused a senior Chinese government official of sexual assault. Then, with shocking predictability, disappeared. Unlike the craven acquiescence to the [...]
Alastair Campbell on seeing a person’s value, not just their mental illness November 23, 2021 | City Talk During his London Episode session, mental health campaigner Alastair Campbell called on CAs to use their influence to put mental wellbeing at the heart of business. One of the main divers for Alastair Campbell’s focus on mental health campaigning was his late brother Donald, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. “Donald held down the same job [...]
A volcanic launch for Bitcoin in El Salvador November 23, 2021 El Salvador will build a “bitcoin city” at the base of a volcano according to the country’s crypto-mad president. Nayib Bukele, the 39-year-old South American dictator, fired up crowds over the weekend when he revealed that a new city, financed entirely with crypto bonds, would be built in the shape of a circle to mimic [...]
Generation Netflix: The weekly release could fall victim to our binge habit November 23, 2021 Much ado about, uh, something, stumbled one of Logan Roy’s goons as he tried to stall for time at the fictional shareholder meeting that would decide the fate of Waystay Royco. The machiavellian drama has been drip fed out to audiences like a doctor administering morphine really, really slowly. In contrast, the likes of Squid [...]
In a world of open banking, Amazon holds all the cards in the face off with Visa November 23, 2021 From January 2022, Amazon will no longer accept Visa credit cards. This is a significant move in a landscape of ever-increasing competition for payments, a growing number of incentives for a move away from credit cards and the potential to bypass traditional payments altogether. Whether or not it was a negotiation tactic to put Visa [...]