The proposed introduction of a cap on costs for social care may limit how much individuals need to contribute. But its implementation alongside other means-tested requirements may still result in inequalities. Plans to reform the funding of social care have been in the manifestos of political parties of all colours for many years. They have […]
Category: Public spending, taxes & debt
To boost the economy after lockdown, the devolved government in Northern Ireland gave every citizen a £100 ‘spend local’ voucher. New data show where and when vouchers were spent, enabling an evaluation of the scheme. Northern Ireland’s ‘high street spend local scheme’ opened for registration on 27 September 2021, with the first cards issued in […]
The devolved government in Northern Ireland has engaged in policy experimentation to boost the post-lockdown economic recovery by giving every citizen a £100 ‘spend local’ voucher. It is worth evaluating whether this innovation is something that should be considered for the rest of the UK. Lockdowns during the pandemic meant that many non-essential shops (as […]
With higher levels of public spending but lower tax revenues than the UK average, Scotland would likely have a large budget deficit were it to become independent, which may make spending cuts or tax rises necessary. The long-term fiscal outlook would depend on the performance of the Scottish economy. The state of Scotland’s public finances […]
Re-establishing fiscal sustainability in the UK will depend on the government’s ability to raise tax revenues via increasing tax rates and/or widening the tax base. Redistributive implications of potential policy changes should be a key consideration. The economic impact of the pandemic has been enormous: the global economy contracted by 4.3 %, the biggest drop in […]
Taxing unhealthy foods like sugary drinks makes them relatively more expensive, potentially encouraging people to buy more healthy alternatives. Evidence shows that such taxes do reduce consumption and that firms reformulate their products, with beneficial effects on health. Taxes on sugary soft drinks have been implemented in many places. In the UK, the Soft Drinks […]
Economic distress caused by the pandemic, the lockdown and the recession have required a big increase in public spending. How has the crisis affected the size of the state and the effectiveness of government policy? The fall in UK economic output as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown is likely to be […]
Over the last century, a number of countries have tried to introduce one-off wealth taxes or capital levies in response to major crises, with varying degrees of success. These examples offer valuable lessons for policy-makers exploring such an option in the wake of the pandemic. In the wake of crises that have caused national debts […]
Any proposal to tax wealth has to be financially worthwhile and politically practicable. History suggests that the financial clout of proposed wealth taxes is often negotiated away and that their political appeal depends on a sufficiently strong sense of inequality. Does the economic history of the UK suggest that new wealth taxes are an effective […]