Setting: The Future The government today announced that a new tax to be imposed on money gained from previous tax cuts. Speaking outside the Treasury, the Chancellor said: “After introducing our tax cuts last year we found that people had more money.  That increase in income led us to believe that we should tax it.  If we didn’t give

Cable and Clegg are already calling for 'em, Brown and Darling are dumping dogma to talk about helping Britain through the recession with tax cuts, Osborne and Cameron are going to announce their tax relief plan tomorrow. Tax cuts are the new black. Meanwhile over in Wapping, Danny Finkelstein said yesterday that Guido is "eccentric" in campaigning for populist tax cuts. Perhaps we have differing ...

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...

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 ...

So one of the big domestic politics news story of the day is that Cameron is proposing some tax cuts on savings. Specifically he announced that a Tory Government would abolish "income tax on savings for everyone on the basic rate of tax". Now don't get me wrong, I love a tax cut, I think we need tax cuts, but think about the practicalities of this for a moment. How is a saver on the basic rate of ...

Leaking more than the Titanic after it hit that iceberg, the Government has been flagging up like crazy the tax cuts it will announce in tomorrow's pre-Budget speech by Alistair Darling. The centre-piece of the tax changes will be the reduction in VAT from 17.5% to 15%. However this reduction is temporary and it will go back up to 17.5%.  Also, corporation tax for small to medium sized b...

Times have changed, voters want the pendulum to swing back from spending towards tax cuts. Rumours are circulating in the Westminster Village that Gordon and Alastair are preparing to announce tax cuts. Which will, even if they are only rhetorical tax cuts, in a stroke make Dave and George look ridiculous as both Labour and the LibDems promise tax cuts and the Tories are left high and dry stranded...

I awoke this morning to the news that the government is thinking of a tax on banks and a tax on car boot sales – taxes from the ridiculous to the sublime. In the current anti banker mood there might even be cheering in the

Tax cuts set out by the government in next week's pre-budget report will be aimed at the 1.1 million people who did not receive emergency compensation when the controversial 10p tax rate was abolished earlier this year, the Guardian has learned. But concerns about the scale of public borrowing mean that the changes will be modest and will be followed soon afterwards by tax rises to reduce nat...

Nick Clegg's quotes on tax yesterday caught my eye: Asked whether he expected the Government to reduce the tax burden, he said: “No, I am saying we will rebalance the tax system. We’re not making great claims about the overall...