There are flat tax articles everywhere this morning. Steve Forbes is in the Wall Street Journal arguing that "a flat tax would unleash a stupendous economic boom". Over at The Business Andrew Allum contends that a British flat tax could boost growth, asset values and, in turn, tax revenues.
A leader in The Sunday Times suggests that Britain might be ripe for a flat tax. It notes that flat taxes are popular throughout Eastern Europe; are being considered in Greece; and that German opposition leader Angela Merkel (probably that country's next Chancellor) has just appointed a flat-taxer to her advisory team. The newspaper writes:
"The arguments in favour of a flat tax are straightforward and compelling. By setting a single tax rate and abolishing complex reliefs, allowances and credits, the tax system becomes simple to administer and easy to understand. Accountants might suffer, but the rest of us would gain. If the flat tax is set at a low enough rate, the rich lose the incentive to engage in expensive tax planning schemes. Those on low incomes can be protected with a generous tax threshold."
The Sunday Times concedes that Gordon Brown is a "lost cause" when it comes to the idea of a flat tax. It might be a big idea for the Tory Party, however, as each of the leadership contenders struggle to inject life into a flat contest.
The previous elceton results were as follows;Lab: 7828 (53%)Lib: 3166 (22%)Grn: 2081 (14%)Con: 1618 (11%)I think the big story is how little Labour needs to do now to gain the urban vote. An extra 11% after their previous councillor stood down having been charged wth sexual offenses.The key thing is that this result is of a piece with all the current trend that the tide is turning back to Labour despite their politics, because, I think, they are so scared of the Coalition they are turning to the biggest bruiser in the school yard, no matter how flawed.We need to understand how hard a period this is for more radical politics and how dangerous that turn towards Labour is for everyone.
Posted by: Ronica | July 10, 2012 at 05:47