New study shows Britain has relatively high effective corporate tax rates
Headline rates of corporation tax matter because they are the most obvious measure of how heavily investments in a given country will be taxed. They are the first place a firm will look in assessing...
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INFOGRAPHIC: What share of Income Tax do people pay?
In the first of our infographics series, taken from our Fiscal Factbook, we illustrate the share of national income (middle column) that is earned by various income groups (left column) and the share...
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INFOGRAPHIC: How does the UK’s top rate of tax compare internationally?
This infographic from our Fiscal Factbook illustrates the top marginal tax rates, including social insurance taxes like employee’s National Insurance, across selected competing economies:
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INFOGRAPHIC: How much of the petrol pump price is Fuel Duty and VAT?
This infographic from our Fiscal Factbook illustrates that when you buy £30 of petrol or diesel, £18 goes on Fuel Duty and VAT while only £12 pays for the fuel: To find out more, visit our...
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INFOGRAPHIC: British government spending since 2000 compared to OECD average
This infographic from our Fiscal Factbook illustrates the growth of government spending in the UK since 2000 and contrasts it with the OECD average:
View ArticleDeregulate and abolish the jobs tax to unburden enterprise, says the ASI
The Adam Smith Institute has published Unburdening Enterprise, a report calling for a package of bold measures to unleash the potential of small and medium business to create jobs and growth: •...
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INFOGRAPHIC: Proportion of GDP spent on debt interest payments
This infographic from our Fiscal Factbook illustrates the growth of government spending on debt interest payments since 2001, compared with Australia and Canada:
View ArticleA minimum price on alcohol is a bad idea
Many of us enjoy a drink after work, or on the weekend. But it might soon become a little more expensive to unwind if the Government has its way. The Adam Smith Institute released a report yesterday on...
View ArticleWhat tomorrow’s Autumn Statement should say
George Osborne will deliver his Autumn Statement to Parliament tomorrow and is expected to bring grim news about his progress towards balancing Britain’s books and getting the economy back on track. So...
View ArticleInstitutions bailed out by taxpayers must be more accountable
Four years after the taxpayer funded bailout of insurance giant AIG, the US Treasury Department has sold off its last shares in the company. Over the last few years, the sale of shares has resulted in...
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The consequences of high Capital Gains Tax
A new study from the Cato Institute, released over the Christmas break, looks at a number of reasons why low Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rates are best. They are concerned about a potential increase in the...
View ArticleCapital flight is happening in France. Taxpayers prefer lower taxes
Campaigners for punitive levels of tax often rest their case on the idea that ‘capital flight’, the phenomenon of people moving their money away from high tax areas to low tax areas, doesn’t happen....
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Taxpayers have suffered austerity while spending rises
George Osborne made much of the importance of controlling the deficit in the run up to the 2010 general election. There were two key aspects of his approach. He would eliminate “the bulk” of the...
View ArticleIFS Green Budget brings grim news for Osborne
The Institute for Fiscal Studies yesterday published their 2013 ‘Green Budget‘, detailing their assessment and predictions of both the public finances and the wider economy. The document makes for...
View ArticleONS figures show more jobs and lower wages. Time for more competition and...
Official statistics released today show that wages have fallen again after accounting for inflation. While consumer prices rose by 2.7 per cent last year, wages were just 1.4 per cent higher in the...
View ArticleOwen Jones’ wishful thinking won’t solve our deep problems
Last Sunday on BBC One’s The Big Questions, TaxPayers’ Alliance research director John O’Connell faced plenty of wishful thinking from other participants on the programme, not least from author and...
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Sluggish growth shows Big Government still holding back economy
Five years on from the start of the recession, with GDP still 2.5 per cent lower than it was then, it speaks volumes about the feebleness of the economy that today’s announcement of meagre growth last...
View ArticleA Debtor’s Prison
The TaxPayer’s Alliance Bumper Books of Government Waste helped set the national agenda on how Whitehall and local councils spend and sometimes squander our money. I’m hoping my new book on the...
View ArticleTravelodge expansion plans at risk from the construction tax
The Managing Director of hotel chain Travelodge has written to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to complain about the high levels of the construction tax in London, known officially as the “Community...
View ArticleProposals for a so-called Mansion Tax should be scrapped
New research published today by the estate agency Knight Frank has revealed further weaknesses in the case for a new ‘Mansion Tax’. In 2012 Vince Cable proposed a levy of 1 per cent annually on...
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