Matthew Sinclair 
Why no conservative should support a mansion tax
The Government is expected to raise around £550 billion in tax revenue this financial year. The Centre for Policy Studies estimates that a mansion tax (of £20,000 on properties of… Continue reading
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Why do-gooding ‘sin taxes’ always stink of politics
Nutella may have been created by Italians, but it is the French who really love it. The hazelnut spread is a fantastically popular accompaniment for everything from bread for breakfast… Continue reading
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Why George Osborne had to kill the mansion tax
This morning the Mail on Sunday reported that George Osborne has promised there will be no mansion tax, no wealth tax and the council tax freeze will be extended. Homeowners… Continue reading
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The problem with George Osborne’s debt target
Q: Why will George Osborne miss his debt target? A: The Government is spending a lot more money than it is taking in taxes. Q: Why is the Government spending… Continue reading
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Promoting tax transparency at the petrol pumps
Too many taxes are buried in prices. From Value Added Tax to the cost of extravagant subsidies for renewable energy, all people see is the shop charging them a higher… Continue reading
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The Treasury sides with the consumer over climate policy
Tim Yeo is now posing as a friend of the consumer. Launching the latest report from the Energy and Climate Change Committee this morning, he attacked the Treasury for ‘refusing to back… Continue reading
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The deeper problem behind Europe’s rising carbon emissions
The Government takes a lot of stick for blaming the weather when there are queues at airports or lacklustre growth figures. Now the European Union is blaming a ‘colder winter’,… Continue reading
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We need a crack down on tax avoidance
After the Budget there was a lot of anger over the pasty tax and the granny tax. Another big rise — in tobacco taxes — didn’t make as many headlines,… Continue reading
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Why property tax rises aren’t the answer
When Tim Montgomerie first started calling for new wealth taxes I was horrified. Sweden has only just abolished its wealth tax after seeing hundreds of billions of kroner leave the… Continue reading
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A green-light for HS2 — but the coalition’s political instincts should tell it to stop
Earlier today, the Government announced that it is still planning to go ahead with a new high-speed rail line that will reach Birmingham by 2026, and then be connected to… Continue reading
29 CommentsThe Climate Change Committee’s suspiciously opaque report
The Climate Change Committee, a quango set up to advise the Government on its emissions targets, make a big claim in their report today. They have, they suggest, disproved the… Continue reading
23 CommentsWhatever Chris Huhne says, Durban hasn’t changed anything
This morning the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) told us that the climate summit in Durban, which concluded over the weekend, has been ‘heralded a success’. As they… Continue reading
18 CommentsDisappointment in Durban
Will Durban break the cycle of climate change meetings that repeatedly disappoint those hoping to replace Kyoto with an upgraded model? With so much else on, most people seem to… Continue reading
22 CommentsThe unions’ pension myths
This morning I debated the President of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers live on Sky News. It was incredible how few answers she had when confronted with the facts… Continue reading
30 CommentsHow much are we paying towards next week’s strike?
Next week, millions of public sector workers will go on strike over proposed changes to their pensions. And yet, even after the reforms, those pensions will still be far more… Continue reading
61 CommentsWhat does the ‘carbon floor price’ mean? More emissions and fewer jobs
After the Conservative Party Conference, Fraser described this statement in George Osborne’s speech as the Osborne Doctrine: ‘Let’s at the very least resolve that we’re going to cut our carbon… Continue reading
5 CommentsTax busting
Back in June 2008, when Gordon Brown’s government was young but already so weak it looked like it might not last, James Foryth wrote about one positive legacy it might… Continue reading
18 CommentsExecutive pay: don’t believe the headlines
Open yesterday’s or this morning’s papers, and you’ll find plenty of reports about the snouts of FTSE100 chief execs being in the trough again, while the rest of us suffer.… Continue reading
31 CommentsHow to untie the tax knot
Yet another HMRC scandal this week, as a new HMRC computer discovered millions who have paid too much or too little in tax. A letter from the tax man will… Continue reading
14 CommentsOsborne’s carbon conceits
George Osborne told a Conservative Party increasingly wary of expensive climate policies that Britain needs to "cut [its] carbon emissions no slower but also no faster than our fellow countries… Continue reading
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