Anyone arriving at Heathrow airport will see those HSBC adverts comparing the top rate of tax in various countries. The message is that HSBC knows the world, but the advert works because that airport is used by the world's rich to hop between country to country, wondering where is best to live, work and declare taxes. The top rate of tax is a powerful symbol, as it tells what that particular ...

A new 45% top rate of income tax will be announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling as part of a range of measures designed to kick-start the economy in his pre-Budget report.

Alistair Darling said the 50p tax rate replaces the planned 45p new top rate for those earning over £150,000 a year announced in November's pre-budget report and will kick in April 2010, a year earlier than planned The chancellor, Alistair Darling, today told the rich they faced a top tax rate of 50% as he sought to plug a record budget deficit and admitted the country would suffer this...

The Chancellor was right to inject this extra money into the economy. He has changed the political debate by breaking the taboo that the super-rich should never pay more tax. He did about as much today as he could to boost the economy but we will need further interest rate cuts and action to get...

It is not the Rich List that Labour has targeted. Says Harry Benson of the Bristol Community Family Trust In a nutshell, if yoiu are on a poor wage helped by tax credits there is no incentive to work longer hours or earn extra money. Every extra pound that you earn attracts an additional 70% tax! Here’s how

I have often argued we need to tax the rich more – ever popular with Lib Dems and Labour. The way to do it is to lower the rates. The Adam Smith Institute has just sent out the figures for

The abolition of the 50p tax rate will 'have to take its place in the queue' under a Conservative government, Cameron told 'Today' listeners this morning. Podcast not up yet. He said his priorities are reversing the tax burdens on those earning £21k - £22k. Smart move. Only 300,000 voters earn over £150k, but millions of voters earn £21k. You'd thin...

A devastating blow against Brown's "tax the rich" plan from the Institue of Fiscal Studies today. How much will the new 45 percent tax rate for those over £170,000 raise? "Approximately nothing" says the IFS and adds that "HM Treasury would raise more with, eg, a 44 percent rate". This reminds us why most developed countries have cut their top marginal rate:...

THE CHANCELLOR George Osborne was facing calls to abandon his plans to drop the highest rate of income tax after one of the world's wealthiest men called for governments t

When I was at the Fabian Society debate last Sunday with Ed Balls, the subject of taxing the rich came up. I warned them they were chasing a false God, that it will result in less tax yield. The rich will have less incentive to earn more, and more incentive to dodge tax. I gave a figure which one of those in the audience later accused me of making up. It’s pivotal to understanding how this c...