Civil servants discussed cap on Isa savings October 13, 2013 CIVIL servants have explored the possibility of imposing a cap on the amount of money that can be held in an Isa, the Treasury confirmed yesterday. Officials held talks with leading financial services companies in recent months to discuss whether wealthy individuals should continue to benefit from holding substantial savings that will never be subject [...]
A single income tax would simplify our excessively convoluted system October 7, 2013 TAX simplification is back on the agenda, thanks to Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors. Highlighting combined marginal rates of child benefit withdrawal and income tax of 73 per cent for those with four children earning between £50,000 and £60,000 a year, Walker called for radically simpler taxes. “I am all for [...]
Letters to the Editor – 7/10 – Washington antics, Empty rhetoric, Best of Twitter October 6, 2013 Washington antics [Re: Recovery could still be extinguished by Washington’s antics, Friday] It’s easy to blame the crisis in Washington on a intractable group of Tea Party Republicans. We can criticise their behaviour. But is what they’re saying right? The real problem the US faces is not the debt ceiling (which will likely be raised) [...]
Business groups urge PM to make good on tax cuts October 2, 2013 DAVID Cameron must make good on his defence of the free market by cutting taxes and boosting investment in the economy, business groups warned yesterday. The Prime Minister used the final day of the Conservative party conference in Manchester to deliver a rhetroic-heavy speech in defence of free markets, attempting to define the next election [...]
Cameron must now translate his vision into concrete action October 2, 2013 THERE is, of course, a place for soundbites. David Cameron’s speech yesterday had those in spades; some were even pretty good. The Prime Minister spoke up for the profit motive, for enterprise, hard work, improved standards in education and called for a land of opportunity. He defended business from the vicious attacks of Ed Miliband, [...]
Cameron needs growth gazelles to bring life to his land of opportunity October 2, 2013 IN HIS speech to the Conservative Party conference yesterday, David Cameron told the audience that the government’s great project was to make Britain a land of opportunity. He argued that Conservatives should see their mission as building a Britain where humble dreams like owning your own home or starting your own business are within the [...]
Nice ideas, but chancellor’s plans are smudged by fine print September 30, 2013 FISCAL responsibility is back – or so the chancellor would like us to believe. While the Tories shamefully backed Gordon Brown’s irresponsible policy of running budget deficits during the boom years, they have learnt the lesson the bitter way. George Osborne is at pains to convince sceptics he wants not just to reduce the deficit [...]
The Tories are failing to find a market response to Ed Miliband’s anti-capitalism September 30, 2013 THE ROLE of the state has long been the major fault line in UK political discourse. This is not surprising, given that the interaction between state and citizen has changed so profoundly over the past 100 years. And with Ed Miliband’s challenge to the market economy last week, and yesterday’s attempted defence by George Osborne, [...]
Dividends will be key for Royal Mail September 24, 2013 Private investors can choose from a wide variety of stockbrokers if they fancy investing in Royal Mail shares IN THE biggest privatisation since the 1980s, the government plans to sell a majority stake in Royal Mail. Analysts are divided over the attractiveness of the stock – with key details such as share price yet to [...]
Coalition talks start after clear Merkel triumph September 23, 2013 CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel’s impressive victory in Sunday’s federal election was confirmed yesterday morning, with her party polling 41.5 per cent of the vote, the highest in nearly two decades. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has already contacted the Social Democratic Party (SPD) to initiate coalition talks. The CDU came just shy of an overall majority [...]