Tax
The trouble with tax
MPs are clip-clopping their way through the corridors of power once again this morning after the summer recess. Not unlike the first day back at secondary school, those returning to… Continue reading
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Treasury: We did not leak the Budget
It’s easy to forget that the Budget took place five long months ago when it is still being unpicked and argued over now. The Treasury Select Committee published the responses… Continue reading
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Would a wealth tax work?
Roll up, roll up! The biannual Lib Dem half-baked tax policy circus is in town! Last time, the so-called ‘mansion tax’ show never lived up to its billing, as ringleader… Continue reading
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Nick Clegg’s pre-conference salvo
This year more than ever, Nick Clegg is looking around for a policy to ensure he does not, to quote Nye Bevan, go naked into the conference hall when his… Continue reading
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Usain Bolt, tax campaigner
Living legend Usain Bolt is an unlikely mascot for those who campaign for reform of our tax system, but by confirming that he will continue to avoid competitions in the… Continue reading
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Back to tax basics
David Gauke was only elected in 2005, but it’s impossible that he can’t remember the Back to Basics campaign, and how well that moral campaign worked out for the Conservative… Continue reading
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Jimmy’s “Scam”
Satirists are like pop stars in two respects. They earn extraordinary amounts of money, and the public assumes that they are left wing. You do not need to be a… Continue reading
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How did it all get so complicated?
Further to Pete’s blog on the new rules about pasties and VAT, the below graphic from today’s City AM sums it up perfectly. It does, of course, make the case… Continue reading
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So let’s get this straight…
After today’s VAT changes: a) If you walked into a pasty shop and bought a pasty that has been kept hot in a cabinet (or in foil, or on a… Continue reading
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The coalition rows back on the Budget’s VAT changes
No government likes to u-turn, and particularly not on a Budget measure. So, tonight’s changes to the VAT regime proposed by the Budget for Cornish pasties and static caravans are… Continue reading
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There are economic reasons to cut the state, irrespective of the deficit
Treasury Select Committee Chairman Andrew Tyrie recently explained he would support cutting back the size of the state even if our public finances were in balance. I doubt whether the… Continue reading
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Transcript: Nick Clegg on the budget and the local elections
Here’s the full transcript of this morning’s Today programme interview with Nick Clegg: James Naughtie: Coalition government involves some pretty hard bargaining, some difficult compromises for both parties. You might… Continue reading
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Anders Borg: Europe’s best finance minister
In the current issue of The Spectator I interview Sweden’s Anders Borg, perhaps the most successful conservative finance minister in the world — both in his economic track record, and… Continue reading
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America’s version of the ‘tax the rich’ debate
While the battle continues to rage over the government’s plan to cap tax relief, on the other side of the Atlantic the US bill that inspired it has been killed.… Continue reading
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How Mitt Romney inspired the British charity tax debacle
How is Mitt Romney linked to the charity tax debacle? I thought I’d pass on to CoffeeHousers an explanation which passed on to me about the origins of this latest… Continue reading
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Another case of Big Government trumping the Big Society
Exactly two years ago today, David Cameron launched the Conservative Manifesto — one of those rare moments in the Tory campaign where it all seemed to make sense. Cameron begged… Continue reading
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Want to know what tax transparency looks like? Look at Norway
If you take George Osborne’s plan for tax transparency to its natural conclusion, where do you end up? The answer is Norway, where details of every taxpayer’s annual income, wealth… Continue reading
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Hints of a U-turn on the ‘charity tax’
The pressure is ramping up on the government to reverse its decision to cap tax reliefs on charitable donations. The Times is against it — their leader this morning calls… Continue reading
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Osborne’s tax avoidance clampdown
So, George Osborne has taken a look at the tax arrangements of some of the UK’s wealthiest people. And his reaction? ‘Shocked’, apparently — or so he’s told the Telegraph:… Continue reading
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Has Osborne fully considered his transparency promise?
Will Osborne come to regret his new-found transparency zeal? This week’s saga from the London Mayoral candidates highlights how financial disclosures can not be all they seem. For Osborne to… Continue reading
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