And so we come full circle (almost), with a call for tax cuts for the working middle classes. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to tax cuts per se, and firmly believe that government should not be spending money where individual choice might be more effective. However, promising tax cuts implies that you have a pretty good idea as to the role of government. I'm yet to be entirely convinced

The Adam Smith Institute has an interesting article about how Tax Freedom Day, the day on which you stop working for the state and start working  for yourself, has now reached June 25th (at least if you take into account the surplus of government spending over its income). Tax Freedom Day is a good idea, transforming a rather abstruse number (the percentage of GDP taken by government spending...

At Conference, Danny Alexander repeated his view that the personal allowance for income tax should be raised beyond £10,000, saying: In the next Parliament, I want us to go further; our aspiration should be that someone working full time on the minimum wage should pay no income tax at all. An income tax threshold of

New Years greetings from Parburypolitica especially for all you cash strapped billionaire's out there. Tax Freedom Day is an import from the US right which nominates a day in the tax year when they argue people stop working for the government and start working for themselves. The concept is rubbish because it doesn’t take into account what public services you gain for the taxe...

Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood has called in the Senedd for a windfall tax on profits of the energy companies. The money could be used to help working people with their fuel costs. ... full story

The Conservatives now have two whole policies: giving massive inheritance tax cuts to millionaires; offering tiny tax advantages for marriage*. But what values link these two ideas together? For example, Liberal Democrat plans to close tax loopholes for the richest, tax pollution and tax multi-million mansions will fund tax cuts of £700 for everyone on low and middle incomes (so you can make...

It is totally symptomatic of the profound malaise that infects the Labour government. Get this! THE government minister in charge of stamping out corporate tax avoidance has himself set up a business in the tax haven of Bermuda. Lord Myners, already under fire for approving Sir Fred Goodwin’s massive pension from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), was part-time chairman of an offshore company whi...

The Conservatives now have two whole policies: giving massive inheritance tax cuts to millionaires; giving tiny tax bribes for marriage*. But what values link these two ideas together? For example, Liberal Democrat plans to close tax loopholes for the richest, tax pollution and tax multi-million mansions will fund tax cuts of £700 for everyone on low and middle incomes (so you can make your ...

The UK Independence party is not known for its influence over the Treasury, but it's just put out a press release welcoming the news that the government may be adopting one of its tax policies. "Raising the personal allowance to take the working poor out of the income tax net has been Ukip policy for some years. It's near insane that we both tax and subsidise the same people, those on lo...

Online sales from retailers like Amazon.Com and E-bay are popular with consumers, and one of the chief attractions is purchases without the necessity of paying an onerous sales tax. In California for instance, those sales taxes can be up to 10% and up. In an effort to get more of your money to spend, state legislatures are working on implementing and enforcing statutes to collect the tax, but they...