Ken Livingstone is blameless in his tax planning March 20, 2012 GEORGE Osborne will stand up today and announce a major clampdown on tax avoidance. Despite what some would have us believe, this should not target Ken Livingstone or people like him. I’ll be clear from the outset – I have no affection for Livingstone. I disagree with his policies, his personal views and the relationships [...]
Ideological companies are not the way to go March 20, 2012 APPLE has accumulated a “cash pile” of about $100bn. Until yesterday, when its chief executive, Tim Cook, announced a plan to pay out $45 billion in dividends, there was speculation about how the money might be spent. Some suggested philanthropy. Cook should be proud of resisting the temptation. “Corporate philanthropy” is one of those expressions [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 20, 2012 Land in sight [Re: Rebalancing taxes towards consumption will let our thwarted youth flourish, yesterday] VAT is not a tax on consumption – it is carried primarily by the producer, reducing economic activity. If a business can sell widgets at £10 and be profitable, but not at £12, that business is destroyed. Far better to [...]
Rebalancing taxes towards consumption will allow our thwarted youth to flourish March 19, 2012 THE REAL debate on tax strategy was started by Andrew Sentance in Morning Wire last week. But too little has been said on the issue of incentives for younger people – and their opportunities to drive economic growth. We are faced with a situation in which the number of people over 65 is set to [...]
Crowdfunding is a fresh new way to back business March 19, 2012 THE emergence of crowdfunding, a new method of raising capital over the internet, is set to test how adept the coalition is at adorning London’s financial services crown with new jewels, particularly as attitudes to regulation turn from light touch to intensive interference. Crowdfunding is a web-driven means of raising money from the mass market. [...]
Why Budgets are bad news for the economy March 19, 2012 LIKE many economists I will be busy tomorrow covering George Osborne’s third Budget. For once, it seems like it could be quite radical. However, I won’t be poring over the fine print trying to distinguish between the populist gimmicks and the parts that will really matter. Instead, I will be arguing that Budgets are a [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 19, 2012 Radically similar [Re: Budget could be surprisingly radical, yesterday] What ever happened to all the radical discussions about merging income tax and national insurance? What about getting rid of the absurd 60 per cent tax rate on those earning between £100,000 and £120,000? This will not be a radical budget. I will believe our chancellor [...]
The UK is already losing out thanks to an uncompetitive airline duty: Don’t put it up March 18, 2012 ALL eyes are on the chancellor ahead of next week’s Budget. Will he take the opportunity to cut UK taxes to help stimulate economic recovery? There is an opportunity to review not just corporation tax but many of the consumer taxes like air passenger duty (APD). Five years ago the tax that you paid on [...]
Bold businesses must be able to grow in Britain March 18, 2012 FAIRNESS has rightly become central to the Budget debate. Personally I would like to see the income tax threshold raised, to allow lower earners to keep more of their hard-earned cash. But a bigger test of success for this Budget will be what measures the chancellor can introduce to drive economic growth. By the chancellor’s [...]
The City can help us to put a spring in our step March 18, 2012 WITH only a few days to go until the chancellor reveals the Budget for 2012, the nation’s business community will be hoping that this March stays true to the message of spring, bringing reinvigoration and new growth. While the grip of the economic downturn has remained firm, the government has had to focus on slowing [...]