Finance & Taxation

Low tax economies perform better and create more wealth, but Britain’s increasing tax burden is harming its competitiveness.  Future governments must bring down this burden.  However, within this burden there is also plenty of scope for restructuring the existing tax system. Government expenditure is inherently less efficient than private expenditure.  It is not just the £101 billion of waste identified by the Taxpayers’ Alliance in their Bumper book of Waste, but also in far more subtle ways. When taxes are high, a higher percentage of spending is made by people who do not bare the burden of this expenditure.  When … Continue reading →

Attacks on the private equity industry are driven by envy, not sound policy analysis and should be resisted by government.  The government’s decision to increase taxes paid by private equity not only risks harming small business which were not the prime target of the taxes, but also to drive private equity business out of London to less hostile environments. Until recently, few outside the finance industry were aware of the term “private equity”.  However, the industry has been reluctantly thrust into the limelight by virtue of its success and the corresponding attacks by those envious of the industry.  Attacks on … Continue reading →