Liz Truss is apparently mulling the ‘nuclear’ option of cutting the standard rate of VAT by five percentage points to support the economy. This has triggered a predictable backlash from my fellow policy wonks, led by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). However, in these extraordinary times, every lever may have to be pulled. The … Continue reading The pros (and cons) of cutting VAT
Tag: energy crisis
Nationalisation of energy suppliers would solve nothing – and could make the crisis even worse
Kudos to Gordon Brown. The former Labour Prime Minister and Chancellor is at least coming up with bold ideas to tackle soaring energy bills. Unfortunately, his ideas are not new, and they are not good ones either. Brown’s starting point is that the energy price cap should be ‘suspended’ before the results of the latest … Continue reading Nationalisation of energy suppliers would solve nothing – and could make the crisis even worse
Tough times ahead, but Britain is still doing better than the EU
It is astonishing how many people are willing to claim that the UK would not be facing a cost of living crisis if Brexit had not happened, or if the Tories were not in power, and that the Chancellor has done nothing to help. This is – to use a technical economics term – cobblers. … Continue reading Tough times ahead, but Britain is still doing better than the EU
Plain-speaking Economics 