In case of interest, here's a presentation I made on 1st October to students of economics and finance on "The digital economy in a time of Covid". It covers topics such as the growth of online retail, zero-hours contracts, the pros and cons of homeworking - and why Amazon apparently pays so little tax... digital-economy-covid-oct-2020Download
Category: Digital economy
The Digital Services Tax is a terrible idea
Digital taxes are clearly a popular way for politicians to tap into hostility towards the tech giants. The Conservatives seem determined to press ahead with plans for a 'Digital Services Tax' (DST) and the necessary legislation is already in the latest draft Finance Bill. Labour and the Liberal Democrats would go even further. But the DST … Continue reading The Digital Services Tax is a terrible idea
Labour’s ‘free broadband’ would come at a heavy price
The Labour Party has set out plans “to deliver fast and free full-fibre broadband for all by bringing parts of BT into public ownership and creating a new British Broadband public service”. This is bad economics. There is no doubt that the wider availability of broadband would be a ‘good thing’. Indeed, the case was … Continue reading Labour’s ‘free broadband’ would come at a heavy price
Plain-speaking Economics 