Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances· Tax Cutting tax cuts Jeremy Hunt rewrites Government’s economic policy 17 October 2022 by Torsten Bell and Adam Corlett and Karl Handscomb and Jonathan Marshall and James Smith The new Chancellor has rewritten UK economic policy in order to reduce the pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates and the Treasury to deliver spending cuts. He has now reversed 60 per cent of the tax cuts announced less than four weeks ago and committing to scale back support for energy … Continued READ MORE
Monetary policy· Economy and public finances· Tax· Macroeconomic policy· Political parties and elections Talking tax What’s been said and what’s gone unsaid in the Conservative leadership election? 26 July 2022 by Torsten Bell and Adam Corlett Elections are rarely entirely about a single issue, but there are exceptions. Brexit in the 2019 general election stands out, and today tax cuts totally dominate the 2022 Conservative leadership election. Judging by last night’s TV debate, the contest is staying that way, with little discussion of the huge questions facing the country, from the … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Economy and public finances· Tax Happy new tax year? National Insurance and Income Tax changes in 2022 3 April 2022 by Adam Corlett The start of the new tax year brings with it one of Rishi Sunak’s major tax reforms: the rise in National Insurance, announced last September and linked to additional support for the NHS and social care. This spotlight explores what this rate rise – together with freezes in the Income Tax personal allowance, the newly-announced … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Economy and public finances· Tax Softening the blow Looking ahead to Spring Statement 2022 21 March 2022 by Adam Corlett and Torsten Bell Faced with the highest inflation in at least three decades, the upcoming Spring Statement is bound to provide more support for households. But the precise set of choices – which could include support via Fuel Duty, benefits or National Insurance – will play an important role in determining the force of the cost of living … Continued READ MORE
Social care· Tax A caring tax rise? The impacts of a potential increase in National Insurance 21 July 2021 by Torsten Bell and Adam Corlett The Government intends to increase social care spending and is considering its options, having delayed a decision until the Autumn. They are 100 per cent right to do so. One option under consideration is raising National Insurance to make that possible. They are 100 per cent wrong to do so – because the far superior … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Fiscal policy· Economy and public finances· Tax· Macroeconomic policy Unhealthy finances How to support the economy today and repair the public finances tomorrow 11 November 2020 by George Bangham and Adam Corlett and Jack Leslie and Cara Pacitti and James Smith This report provides analysis of the dual challenges faced by the government: ensuring that there is sufficient fiscal support through the crisis and recovery, and setting fiscal policy on a sustainable long-term path. Some argue it is unsustainable to provide the massive government support during the crisis, while others see little constraint on government borrowing … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty· Wealth & assets· Tax Who gains? The importance of accounting for capital gains 21 May 2020 by Adam Corlett and Arun Advani and Andy Summers This report looks at what we know about taxable capital gains; how our understanding of top income shares changes if we include capital gains in our analysis; and whether official statistical definitions of income should be changed or supplemented. READ MORE
Public spending· Economy and public finances· Tax The shifting shape of UK tax Charting the changing size and shape of the UK tax system 13 November 2019 by Adam Corlett Ahead of the general election, this report looks at how and why levels of UK taxation have changed over time; how its make-up has shifted; the challenges facing the tax system, and what the parties may propose to do about it. READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Tax· Political parties and elections The huge Brexit Party tax cut for rich remain areas 16 September 2019 by Adam Corlett and Torsten Bell In this paper we examine the policy of abolishing inheritance tax, the new top priority announced by the Brexit Party. We find that the proposal would amount to an expensive giveaway to a tiny number of very wealthy households, largely living in the richest parts of the country and concentrated in remain voting constituencies. READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Tax· Intergenerational Centre Passing on: options for reforming inheritance taxation 2 May 2018 by Adam Corlett Inheritances are growing rapidly in importance at the same time as fiscal pressures mount. But the current inheritance tax system manages to raise relatively little while also being especially unpopular. This paper proposes a Lifetime Receipts Tax that would address Inheritance Tax’s problems while also raising more revenue and encouraging individuals to spread their wealth more widely. READ MORE
Housing· Tax· Intergenerational Centre Home affairs: options for reforming property taxation 20 March 2018 by Adam Corlett and Laura Gardiner This paper assesses options for reforming property taxation, with a focus on the existing council tax system which now bears far too much resemblance to the unpopular poll tax it was brought in to replace. It sets out a range of options for making property tax fairer, simpler and more economically efficient. READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Tax· Intergenerational Centre The million dollar be-question: inheritances, gifts, and their implications for generational living standards 30 December 2017 by Laura Gardiner This report assesses the role that intergenerational family transfers – inheritances and gifts – play in Britain. It provides a detailed assessment of past gifts and inheritances, and estimates the timing and distribution of future intergenerational transfers of property wealth to the millennial generation. READ MORE
Tax· Political parties and elections A matter of tax: pre-election briefing on the main parties’ tax policies 16 May 2017 by Adam Corlett There is much that is unusual about the 2017 general election, from its surprise announcement to the dominance of a single issue – Brexit – on which the parties themselves remain split. Particularly remarkable is the extent to which the tax debate has so far focused more on options for tax rises rather than tax … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Tax Changing Tax: pressing reset on the UK’s tax policy 5 November 2016 by Matthew Whittaker In this note, we consider how the Chancellor might reset the UK’s tax policy in the Autumn Statement, with a particular focus on the personal allowance threshold and corporation tax. READ MORE
Labour market· Tax Double take: workers with multiple jobs and reforms to National Insurance 1 October 2016 by Adam Corlett and David Finch The tax treatment of workers with multiple jobs may be reformed as part of proposals by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) to more closely align National Insurance (NI) and income tax. The current system of NI largely operates on a per job – rather than per person – basis, allowing a worker with two … Continued READ MORE
Housing· Scotland· Tax Battle of the bands: the prospect of council tax reform in Scotland and beyond 8 April 2016 by Adam Corlett It is 25 years since the UK government announced its plan to abolish the community charge and introduce a new local tax for Scotland, England and Wales. Since then, council tax has undergone almost no reform, and in Scotland and England is still based on property values from 1 April 1991. But now change is afoot, … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances· Tax· Political parties and elections Time for revision: why the Chancellor needs to look again at his plans for tax cuts in the Budget 14 March 2016 by Stephen Clarke and David Finch and Matthew Whittaker This briefing note considers possible tax cuts that could feature in the Chancellor’s upcoming Budget, and looks at how these policy choices can be made in a way that better benefits lower earners. READ MORE
Pensions & savings· Tax Save it for another day: pension tax relief and options for reform 10 March 2016 by Adam Corlett and Matthew Whittaker The Treasury has reportedly backed away from pension tax reforms, at least temporarily. Given the scale of existing tax relief, its particular benefits for higher income savers, and the potential wider impact of any change, this is perhaps understandable. But there remains a strong case for making the current system cheaper, fairer and better targeted. … Continued READ MORE
Tax Finding some relief: the case for applying fiscal discipline to tax expenditures 7 July 2015 by Adam Corlett Since becoming Chancellor in 2010, George Osborne has introduced a range of institutional changes to lock-in budget scrutiny, reduce borrowing and restrain welfare spending. But in relation to public ‘spending’ in the form of special tax rules or reliefs for particular groups, evaluation of value for money remains as weak as ever. Using a narrow … Continued READ MORE
Tax Missing the target: tax cuts and low to middle income Britain 1 December 2014 by Adam Corlett and Matthew Whittaker and Gavin Kelly This report has two main objectives. First, to assess the main political parties’ leading proposals on tax cuts for the next Parliament. Second, to consider whether there is a different approach to that advocated by the main parties that would better serve low and middle income Britain. READ MORE
Tax Analysing the impact of increasing the personal tax allowance to £10,500 in 2015 18 March 2014 by Alex Hurrell A comparison of the effects of spending the same sum of money on two alternative tax reforms that are also being aired in the run-up to the Budget – raising the threshold at which workers have to pay NICs, and raising the higher rate tax thresholds so that fewer people get dragged into the 40 pence … Continued READ MORE
Tax Will future tax cuts reach struggling working households? 2 April 2013 by Donald Hirsch This briefing looks at how exactly tax cuts interact with Universal Credit and quantifies how little low to middle income working households will keep from a higher personal allowance or a 10p tax rate under UC. It also suggests a simple way in which the Government could ensure that the benefits of tax cuts do … Continued READ MORE
Tax Fairer by design: efficient tax reform for those on low to middle incomes 31 July 2012 by Paul Johnson The current system of redistribution through taxation and welfare is inefficient and could be reformed to give more support to those on low and middle incomes whilst reducing economic costs according to a new report for the Resolution Foundation Commission on Living Standards. The report, written by Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal … Continued READ MORE
Tax 2012 Personal Allowance Tax Changes 27 December 2011 by Matthew Whittaker The income tax personal allowance is set to increase to £8,105 in April 2012, rather than the £7,900 it would have been if increased in line with September’s RPI. But small changes across tax credits mean losses for many low to middle income households. Read our analysis of the changes to the personal allowance and … Continued READ MORE
