Either it’s an election year, or Nick Clegg has suddenly discovered some principles. This week, George Osborne announced that there would be another £25 billion in spending cuts after the 2015 general election and around half of that would come from the welfare budget. For Clegg, who must have been given a spine at Christmas, […]
Did Nick Clegg receive a spine for Christmas, or just a second face? Read More »
Eleven EU member states are pushing ahead with a plan to introduce a tiny tax on financial transactions. Four of Europe’s five largest economies are among them. Guess which one is missing? The UK House of Lords EU Subcommittee on Economic and Financial Affairs this week came out railing against the financial transaction tax (FTT),
Britain must adopt a financial transaction tax Read More »
My editorial from the April issue of International Tax Review. The annual circus of jibes, justifications and recriminations visited Britain again last month when Chancellor George Osborne unveiled his latest budget. Osborne faced a particularly rough ride this year, even with a tax agenda which has been broadly welcomed by British business. After all, with
I was on RT News at noon on Wednesday giving my predictions for a predictably dire budget and giving Osborne both barrels. Watch here
Appearance on RT News: Bashing the budget Read More »
Around this time last month, George Osborne was in Moscow meeting his fellow G20 finance ministers to talk about tax avoidance. Describing tax avoidance as “morally repugnant”, Osborne has commendably acknowledged the extent of the problem as a drain to public finances. Unfortunately the key weapon in Osborne’s arsenal to tackle the problem – the
Osborne may need to rethink anti-tax avoidance measures Read More »
Once upon a time, the financial transaction tax (FTT) was the stuff of legend, supported only by radical economists and written off by the European Commission as unfeasible unless introduced on a global scale. But now, with 11 member states moving forward with the Commission’s ambitious plan to place a 0.1% tax on transactions in
Britain must support the financial transaction tax, it’s only fair Read More »
This article was originally written for the New Statesman. George Osborne’s article in the Observer following the G20 meeting of Finance Ministers in Moscow at the weekend provides the first sign that Britain is finally ready to tackle tax avoidance and help reform an international tax system that is almost a century out of date.
Osborne must turn warm words into action on tax avoidance Read More »
At 11.39pm, April 14 1912, a man called Robert Hitchins made the mistake of turning right instead of left. The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, taking with it a captain who had blithely ignored all warnings of danger and plowed on full steam ahead with the arrogance of an Empire which was soon
George Osborne: History will remember you better if you turn left Read More »
