Continued from here.   The Hat Tax Astonishingly, hats were subject to a special sales tax between 1784 and 1811, … Continue reading “Stupid taxes are nothing new – but that doesn’t make them any less stupid (Part 2)”

In these uncertain economic times, there is no better way for a lobbyist to get politicians’ attention than by promising … Continue reading “A thought experiment: what if everyone stopped drinking, smoking and overeating?”

Last month saw the publication of a Public Health England (PHE) report on alcohol which promoted various interventions in the … Continue reading “Public Health England: a tax-funded neo-temperance campaign group”

Yesterday saw the publication of the first ever Nanny State Index. It looks at 32 criteria and 28 countries to … Continue reading “Britain is amongst the EU’s most meddlesome nanny states”

Given the proximity to the election, most commentators predicted a ‘Budget of giveaways’, full of populist gimmicks. Judged against that … Continue reading “Osborne’s Budget delivers too little bang for the buck”