BankingAllow the Bank of England to lend to troubled banks on an anonymous basis in the short term in the wake of the collapse of Northern Rock. More coordination between authorities in the regulation of banks, and implement the increase in savers' protection from £35,000 to £50,000. Controversy rating: 3/3 Saving gateway accountsUp to 8 million people on benefits or tax c...
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Guardian 52 minutes ago (via guardian.co.uk)
Obituary: Tax lawyer turned politician charged by Thatcher with cutting public spending
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Guardian 52 minutes ago (via guardian.co.uk)
The Government formally announced its independent review of tax havens today which was trailed in the Pre-Budget Report. This is a very positive move and I’m sure a lot of groups that normally get shut out of the closed world of tax policy lobbying will want to make submissions and give...
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Tigmoo 1 hour ago (via touchstoneblog.org.uk)
In launching the Queen’s Speech, the Government has said that fighting the economic downturn is its over-riding priority for the year ahead. It’s difficult to see how many of the Bills will make any difference on this front. Waging a war on booze and lap-dancing bars, which as far as I can tell is the sum of what the Queen’s Speech adds up to, will have the opposite affect &ndash...
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CobdensComments 2 hours ago (via cobdenscomments.blogspot.com)
Two in three councils are planning or considering extra rises in council tax amid fears funding is going to dry up.
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Telegraph 6 hours ago (via telegraph.co.uk)
Camden Council is current going through is annual process of budget-setting. An early indication of the intention of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, as indicated by the Executive in November, is for an ‘inflation’ increase of 2.5% in council tax. This figure is the same as the target for the year before, meaning that council leaders have not taken any account of the downtu...
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TheosBlog 10 hours ago (via regentsparklabour.blogspot.com)
This video is a fun way of whiling away ten minutes. I could argue with details, but he does make some good points:
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Mark Wadsworth 1 day ago (via markwadsworth.blogspot.com)
The Calman Commission has ruled against fiscal autonomy for Scotland, arguing that it would be inconsistent with the Union, the BBC reports. But would it? Unionism and tax raising powers do not have to be mutually exclusive . In fact, one could argue from a unionist perspective that ‘no taxation without representation’ (or ‘no representation
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TheWiltedRose 1 day ago (via thewiltedrose.wordpress.com)
Just quite how stupid are they? FFS, people respond to incentives! Faced with a relatively cushy life on the dole and total withdrawal rates of approx. 80% of wages (i.e. you lose 31% of your wages in income tax/National Insurance, plus you lose JSA, Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit worth around a third of an average salary, plus you lose another 39p in Working Tax Credits for every £...
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Mark Wadsworth 1 day ago (via markwadsworth.blogspot.com)