Current affairs - Land Value Tax Campaign

Promoting social mobility

Written on 13 January 2009. Posted in Welfare.

Social mobility is on the British government’s agenda. It doesn’t matter what the government proposes because none of the suggested measures can do more than scratch the surface of the problem, at disproportionate cost. But to be fair to the government, neither the Conservatives nor the LibDems have any better policies.

Unsound economics theory the root of our problems

Written on 11 January 2009. Posted in Economics.

Nearly two years after the bank crisis which initiated the present phase of the economic crisis, it is evident that the experts, including the people who advise governments, have a very incomplete grasp of what is happening. Current economic theory ignores land and its role in the economy…

Tax system soaks the poor

Written on 31 December 2008. Posted in Taxation.

One of the vile things about the UK’s current taxation system is that it reaches so far down the income scale. So says Tim Worstall in an article in The Guardian, arguing that the statutory minimum wage should not be increased. Worstall pointed out that “it is possible to be working part-time on the minimum wage and be paying income tax. Indeed, a full-time worker who gets that pre-tax...

Labour plans to hit people in nice areas

Written on 27 December 2008. Posted in Taxation.

The government seems to have an unhappy knack of getting into a mess with property taxation. The latest wheeze is a tweaking of the Council Tax so that people who live in nice area pay more. Labour planning secret tax on ‘nice houses’

IMF Chief Economist criticises Britain’s VAT cut

Written on 23 December 2008. Posted in Taxation.

We do not usually find ourselves in agreement with the IMF, but we go along with their chief economist, Oliver Blanchard, in his criticism of Gordon Brown’s £12.5bn cut in VAT. Blanchard has dismissed it as “not a good idea”, warning that European governments faced a new Great Depression if their stimulus packages proved inadequate.

Interest rate cuts taking us nowhere

Written on 5 December 2008. Posted in Banking.

These ongoing interest rate cuts are obviously achieving nothing, so why persist with them? People who are in debt and feel insecure about spending their money are not suddenly going to rush to the shops to buy things that are not essential, and certainly not with borrowed money, at any interest rate. In fact, anyone sensible person enjoying an interest rate cut will continue with the same repayments...

Employers’ Burden of Tax

Written on 4 December 2008. Posted in Taxation.

EMPLOYERS’ BURDEN OF TAX 2008/9 EMPLOYERS’ BURDEN OF TAX 2008/9 Tax Rates % of Employers NI Gross max a £0.00 — £5435.00 0% £0.00 b £5435.01 — no limit 12.8% Employees NI a £0.00 — £5435.00 0% £0.00 b £5435.01 — £40040.00 11% £3806.55 c £40040.01 1% Income...

Captains of industry get begging bowls out

Written on 19 November 2008. Posted in Economics.

Britain’s Captains of Industry have always been foremost amongst the advocates of free market economics, but not, it seems, when they themselves are in trouble. Now they too have joined the queue of benefit claimants and have got their begging bowls out. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF) have sent a joint letter to the chancellor,...

Canary Wharf hit by financial crisis

Written on 16 November 2008. Posted in Banking.

Canary Wharf is facing the threat of rapidly emptying office blocks as big corporate tenants review their property needs after the wave of bank mergers triggered by the financial crisis. Nearly 2m sq ft of office space in the Docklands financial centre – or more than 10 per cent of the district – is in danger of being deserted as demand for new space falls across London. Read article...

GDP – a worthless measure

Written on 14 November 2008. Posted in Economics.

Earlier this week, the Guardian carried on its front page a diagram with a thick red line pointing down. This showed what was happening to Britain’s Gross Domestic Product, and was intended to portray the dire state of the economy. But what does it really mean? The meal prepared from home-grown food and eaten at home does not register on the GDP statistics, whereas a ready-made meal make its...

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