Also including thoughts on the latest Budget speculation, paying interest on reserves, the latest from the OECD and IMF, Carney and Blair’s EU fantasies, and what’s really happening to consumer confidence... Theme of the Week It’s party conference season, so politicians will not let a mere fiscal crisis disrupt the usual competition to see who … Continue reading Weekly wrap: Tax cut talk – the good, the bad, and the ugly
Tag: Digital Services Tax
US tariff war exposes Europe’s double standards on trade
Donald Trump has started a tariff war based on awful economics, with little thought to the consequences for US businesses, consumers or markets, and no clear end game. But the US does have some legitimate grievances about the trade policies adopted by other countries – and not just by China. For the last forty years … Continue reading US tariff war exposes Europe’s double standards on trade
An online sales tax would be more trouble than it is worth
The UK government has been consulting on the concept of an ‘online sales tax’, or OST, which could raise £1-2 billion annually to help pay for a reduction in business rates for physical retailers. I submitted a response to the consultation, which is available here... ost-consultation-response-20-may-2022-julian-jessopDownload
The pros and (mostly) cons of an online sales tax
The Sunday Times has reported that UK officials are mulling two new taxes on digital businesses – an online sales tax and an ‘excess profits tax’ – in order to help fill the hole in the public finances and support the High Street. In my view, both are bad ideas. In general, economists quite like … Continue reading The pros and (mostly) cons of an online sales tax
