We won’t build a Global Britain with the highest taxes on air travel in the world February 20, 2017 The Prime Minister – in her Lancaster House speech last month – set out her vision for Brexit and her goal of “a truly global Britain”. She has been clear that she seeks to lead “a country that reaches beyond the borders of Europe” and “a country that goes into the world to build relationships”. [...]
Older people must shoulder their share of government spending cuts February 14, 2017 Given general improvements in technology and prosperity, younger generations should, in theory, always be better off than their parents. But with pensioner households now earning more than their working age equivalents, according to a new report from the Resolution Foundation, this can no longer be taken for granted. It is of course good news that older [...]
Punish HMRC for arbitrarily bullying the victims of our complex tax code February 8, 2017 A good rule of thumb for a system or process: if you sat down and designed it from scratch, would it look like it does now? Ask that question of the tax system and the answer, of course, is a resounding “no”. It is a hideously complicated mess that punishes families and businesses, while destroying [...]
From public sector pensions to social care, the government is scarily ill-prepared for major demographic change December 13, 2016 The gap between private and public sector pensions in the UK is the worst in the developed world, according to the OECD. New civil servants can expect to receive a 6 per cent pay rise when they reach retirement, while private sector workers can expect a cut of nearly 50 per cent. Mounting pressures on social [...]
Theresa May’s statism is the wrong way to build a more prosperous post-Brexit Britain October 12, 2016 Labour has lurched to the hard left and Ukip does not currently seem equipped to capture the significant number of voters on lower incomes who are worried about immigration and the impact of globalisation. So it is understandable that the Prime Minister is seeking to seize the coveted centre ground. For that purpose, Mrs May’s [...]
The chancellor’s fiscal reset is a golden opportunity to slash living costs through tax cuts and planning reform September 5, 2016 Philip Hammond recently said that he may use the Autumn Statement to “reset” fiscal policy. That is a welcome sentiment because it suggests the chancellor sees before him a golden opportunity to transform the tax system. With Parliament returning, we are likely to see the government start to formulate and publicise more detailed economic policy [...]
