The Conservative Party leadership election and rising prices have sparked a national debate about whether now is the time for … Continue reading “In defence of tax cuts – yes, even now”

This week, the Chancellor will deliver arguably the most consequential Budget for many years. Despite the fact the UK has … Continue reading “20 taxes the government could scrap to boost the economy”

In response to reports that the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is said to be considering a VAT cut followed by tax … Continue reading “Hard to imagine a “worse combination” than VAT cut followed by tax rises”

Responding to press reports that the Treasury is considering a cut in VAT, IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop said: “It’s … Continue reading “Cutting VAT might kickstart demand but it will have large deadweight costs”

This week the IEA and Civitas published a joint paper, Rebooting Britain, on the economics of the Covid-19 crisis, written … Continue reading “The UK economy should be able to reboot itself, if markets are allowed to work properly again”

So much for US Republicans starving the government beast. When the party’s major tax reform package passed in December, Democrats … Continue reading “US Republicans have given up any pretence of fiscal conservatism”

With the ‘stimulus’ versus ‘austerity’ debate having receded, George Osborne likes to talk instead about his ‘long-term economic plan’. This … Continue reading “A quiet revolution in the case for tax cuts”

If you google the phrase ‘vicious public spending cuts’ you get 64,000 results from UK websites. Even if 32,000 of those are … Continue reading “Big steps to a smaller state”

‘Support for UK cuts plummets’ screams a hyperbolic headline in today’s Financial Times. It relates to a poll carried out … Continue reading “Never mind the buzzwords – cuts are both necessary and desirable”