When government and the Treasury have no understanding of the role of land in the economy, not only do they impose policies that will have the opposite effect to that intended; they will also fail to see opportunities for simple interventions that would have wide-reaching benefits. We do not expect a British Chancellor to introduce anything like the tax reforms the Campaign is advocating, but with...

On the day of the 2010 Budget, we are pleased to introduce our new expert commentator, leading economist Charlotte-Anne Schreiber. She was delighted to be invited to the press box in the House of Commons to hear the budget speech. Although she found it confusing and contradictory, a promise right at the end of the 90-minute dissertation gave her hope that at long last a Chancellor had realised where...

Three of the measures in the 2010 Budget today prove conclusively that neither the Chancellor nor, probably, those who advise him, have the foggiest idea what they are doing. He announced that empty properties with a rateable value of less than £18,000 will be exempt from paying business rates in 2010/11. business rates will be cut from October 2010 in a bid to help small businesses through the...

Our team of newshounds stalk the corridors, comb the columns and earwig the airways to bring you the latest news, comment and criticism. It is a closely guarded secret that immediately before the Chancellor leaves 11 Downing Street for the traditional photo shoot with the red box, the House of Commons chaplain holds a short service in an upper room. Disguised as a window cleaner, our sleuth was...

Our team of newshounds stalk the corridors, comb the columns and earwig the airways to bring you the latest news, comment and criticism. Our reporter was able to pose as an illegal immigrant and work as a cleaner at the Treasury with after-hours access to the private office of the Chancellor. In the wastepaper basket several screwed up piece of paper revealed a handwritten draft of a speech that...

It has been suggested that the house price (land price) bubble could have been prevented by a Capital Gains Tax. There is also a feeling that capital gains, on, for instance, share transactions, should be taxed as they are an unearned profit. So shouldn’t we be supporting them?

Our team of newshounds stalk the corridors, comb the columns and earwig the airways to bring you the latest news, comment and criticism.  Our reporter had a hidden recorder when Alasspoor Darling was interviewed by the BBC after the announcement that Britain was officially out of recession. This is what the Chancellor really said: “I can officially announce this evening that we have come...

Did you know that 2010 is European Year of Poverty?  The EU commission group established to run this campaign tells us that “The European Union is one of the richest areas in the world, but still 17% of EU citizens have such limited resources that they cannot afford the basics.”   This is interesting because it is EU policies that have played a significant part in creating...