Tax
The government must cut or even scrap capital gains tax
When economists get things wrong– something rather easy, given the nature of their subject – they should admit that they got them wrong. Well, the Adam Smith Institute got it… Continue reading
29 Comments
Tinkering with tax isn’t enough
Should the 10p tax rate be brought back? Should the top rate be higher, or lower? Can the personal allowance be raised further? Is a mansion tax a good idea?… Continue reading
65 Comments
Big Brother cash machine campaign costs nearly £100k
Remember those menacing HMRC eyes that Fraser found staring out at him from a cashpoint last month? Well, it turns out they’re a pretty expensive pair of eyes. A Freedom… Continue reading
27 Comments
George Osborne needs to deliver serious tax reform
‘Isn’t there a case for looking at the whole system at some point?’ whispered Isabel on Tuesday when MPs criticised the taxman again. Well, yes, there is. Last May, the… Continue reading
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Lib Dems get worked up about a vote that doesn’t matter
It seems I rather underestimated Labour when I said their forthcoming Opposition Day vote on the mansion tax would be boring and unlikely to attract any Lib Dem support. The… Continue reading
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On tax policy, to govern is to maintain the status quo
To govern is to choose, wise people like to say when talking about policies which annoy voters but which might make good sense. Today we have another example of what… Continue reading
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Mr Micawber Goes to the Treasury
John Rentoul draws attention to a new ComRes poll that goes some way towards explaining George Osborne’s predicament when it comes to managing government finances. Put simply, the public is… Continue reading
5 Comments The taxing question Labour can’t answer
The details of Labour’s mansion tax proposal remain, to put it politely, sketchy. Here’s the exchange between Andrew Neil and Sadiq Khan on the Sunday Politics on how Labour would… Continue reading
78 Comments
Labour’s mansion tax debate won’t be a crunch vote (or very interesting)
So Labour is going to force a vote in the House of Commons on the mansion tax. It’s the key announcement trailed as part of Ed Miliband’s visit to Eastleigh… Continue reading
17 Comments
No 10 attacks Miliband’s ‘admission of economic incompetence’
Here’s an interesting thing: Number 10 has released a statement on Ed Miliband’s 10p tax rate pledge. The Downing Street press machine hasn’t been in the habit of doing this… Continue reading
59 Comments
Labour’s Valentine’s policy gimmick
At long last, Ed Miliband delivered us a Valentine’s Day present that everyone in the political world has been waiting for: a new policy! And a tax policy at that!… Continue reading
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Ed Miliband’s bold redistributive rebuke to Brown
Those close to Ed Miliband stress that if elected, Labour will introduce a mansion tax to pay for the return of a 10p tax rate. I’m told that ‘short of… Continue reading
25 Comments
Miliband steals a march on Tory tax campaign
Ed Miliband has just started his economy speech in Bedford, so as he gets underway, here’s a quick thought on his plan to reintroduce the 10p tax band. Doing this… Continue reading
10 Comments
Tax avoidance needs to stop – and companies themselves must lead the way
Tax avoidance on an industrial scale in a country where almost half of children are malnourished and their families live on less than $2 a day? When I read the… Continue reading
99 Comments
Nick Clegg forgets that many married couples struggle to pay their way
The disadvantage of live phone-in radio programmes is precisely that you don’t get to weigh your words. No doubt Nick Clegg would have expressed himself a bit differently on the… Continue reading
33 Comments
George Osborne urged to drop Google boss as business adviser
Starbucks had a go at David Cameron on Sunday for his ‘cheap shots’ at the coffee chain’s tax arrangements in the UK. The company felt it was being unfairly singled… Continue reading
33 Comments
Restoring the 10p tax rate would be fair and simple
MPs will today debate taxes and the living wage – in particular, my campaign to restore the 10p rate of income tax. For Conservatives, a ‘starter’ rate of 10p would help… Continue reading
19 Comments
101 questions about tax
As well as confusing Hansard with talk of ‘big fairies’, Labour’s Jim Sheridan has no fewer than 101 written questions for answer today on how many contracts a number of… Continue reading
23 Comments
No Country for Green Men - Spectator Blogs
This week’s Think Scotland column takes a gander, just for once, at the Scottish Green party. Patrick Harvie’s party is in favour of Scottish independence for reasons that, frankly, seem… Continue reading
13 Comments
François Hollande: Ed Miliband’s embarrassing friend
Time was when Ed Miliband had plenty to say about François Hollande. When the new French President celebrated his victory in May, the Labour leader praised Hollande for his ‘determination… Continue reading
45 Comments