While George Osborne’s latest budget has managed to distract everyone with a few small changes to the tax structure (those with savings, a fat pension pot or a liking for beer and bingo will do well), the enormity of the national tax abuse scandal has been hidden from view. The government would have us believe that spending cuts, not taxes, are the solution to plugging the hole in public finances. But the real reason for the deficit is to do with the banking crisis- not spending increases. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, government spending in 2009 was up 7.5% - but because of economic slowdown, rising unemployment and a reduction in corporation tax rates, the tax take fell by 20%. The inconvenient truth: without fairer taxes and clamping down on abuse, we will never close the fiscal gap without causing massive social harm.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 13:02:01 +0000
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