The government is consulting on a proposal for an online sales tax. The rationale for this idea is that high … Continue reading “Online sales taxes: wrong in theory, an administrative nightmare in practice”

In response to reports that the Chancellor is considering an increase in business rates for the “most valuable properties,” Professor … Continue reading “Business rates are a “poorly-designed” tax in need of reform, says Professor Len Shackleton”

Economists have always had a soft spot for Henry George, the 19th century American author of Progress and Poverty, who … Continue reading “For our high streets, there will be no “return to normal” any time soon”

David Ricardo termed unearned income from land as a pernicious anomaly: “that portion of the produce of the earth which … Continue reading “It’s time for a Land Value Tax”

This article was first published by The Independent. One of the good ideas in yesterday’s Autumn Statement was the scrapping … Continue reading “Autumn Statement: splashing central government money around is not ‘devolution’”