Corporation tax hikes are apparently back on the agenda for the March Budget, with the Financial Times suggesting that the Chancellor believes it would be fair to ask businesses for more after taxpayer support during pandemic. This argument might score a few points with focus groups and play well on social media, but it is … Continue reading The UK government should still be cutting corporation tax, not raising it
Tag: government debt
Why fiscal responsibility still matters
I’m relatively relaxed about the fiscal costs of Covid: UK government borrowing will drop sharply as the economy recovers; the increase in the debt burden is manageable; and there’s no need to ‘pay for Covid’ with ‘austerity’ of any kind. (See my earlier blog explaining How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Debt.) … Continue reading Why fiscal responsibility still matters
Six things the Chancellor should (or shouldn’t) do to boost the recovery
On Wednesday Rishi Sunak will announce a one-year Spending Review for 2021-22. This will not be a full Budget, but there is still a huge amount of mostly unhelpful speculation about what might be in it, and what’s coming next. There does at seem to be a broad consensus that the Chancellor should ‘go for growth’. … Continue reading Six things the Chancellor should (or shouldn’t) do to boost the recovery
How much should we worry about UK government debt?
Another month, another set of scary numbers on the public finances: the UK government borrowed an additional £36 billion in September and total public debt rose to £2,060 billion, or around 103.5% of national income (GDP). But there is still no need to panic. For a start, the figures are entirely as expected. If anything, … Continue reading How much should we worry about UK government debt?
Plain-speaking Economics 