IEA Featured Tax and Fiscal Policy

"Climbing back towards the highest echelons of the freedom index is the best route to securing long-term wealth and prosperity" says Mark Littlewood, IEA Director-General. Writing his fortnightly column for The Times newspaper, Mark looks at Britain's performance in the latest report from the Fraser Institute in Canada which measures the economic freedom of the world ... Continue reading

The IEA's Senior Academic Fellow Professor Philip Booth was quoted in The Sunday Times responding to reports that the government's 'levelling-up' strategy will rely on high levels of state intervention. Philip said that “subsidising low-productivity industries is not a good way to level up. It’s fair to say that it hasn’t worked in the UK. ... Continue reading

Responding to calls to extend the furlough scheme beyond the end of October, the IEA's Director of Communications Annabel Denham took part in a debate column for City AM. Annabel argued that no, we should not extend the furlough. While few disputed that furlough was the right medicine in March, "it is irresponsible to have ... Continue reading

With the national debt exceeding £2 trillion, a divide has emerged between hawks and doves. As the IEA's Director General Mark Littlewood explains, "the former camp believes that a dial-up in tax rates is necessary" and the doves "insist that increasing the tax burden on an already beleaguered private sector will choke off any meaningful ... Continue reading

Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop said: "If the reopening of schools allows one million working parents to return to the office, and each spends an additional £50 per week, that’s a pre-Christmas boost to the economy of £650million." Read the article in full here.... Continue reading

With reports that the UK chancellor is set to hike taxes this autumn, IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop warned that it is "definitely not" the time for tax rises. Quoted in the Financial Times, Julian argued that “Fiscal tightening would slow the recovery and there is simply too much uncertainty over the long-term health of ... Continue reading

California's proposed wealth tax would be faced with "iniquity and impracticality" and amount to a "direct attack on property rights which has no obvious limits" says Professor Philip Booth, Senior Academic Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs. Writing for CapX, Philip notes that while there are features of the UK and US tax systems ... Continue reading