[ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES – 63] KEEPING ECONOMICS SIMPLE [EMILE WOOLF 20-9-19] The US Department of Defence is a major customer of many private sector suppliers, including the Boeing Company. Although relationships between customer and supplier are mutually beneficial, that is by no means the only reason why Boeing has proved to be such an enduring commercial […]

SPARE A THOUGHT (OR PRAYER) FOR THE NEW PM – AND HIS CHANCELLOR! EMILE WOOLF – ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES 58 The global economy is entering dangerous territory. In Britain’s case, the standard scapegoat for any slowdown is Brexit, of course. But how to explain the contraction in other major manufacturing countries? Forewarnings of serious decline are […]

  ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES – 57 JULY 2019 Considering that the UK has a rag-bag of the most terrible taxes, did you note the competitive strategies for tax reform put forward by Tory candidates in their bid for election to high office? ONLY WHAT’S NECESSARY….   Most of their suggested “reforms” involved some judicious cutting of […]

By Emile Woolf [ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES – 55] A couple of months back, in the context of blaming the government’s inflexibility for its failure to achieve a deal with the EU over Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn railed against the Tory Party, declaring that it “actually wants to turn this country into a deregulated, low-tax society that will […]

Dear Ronald Many thanks for spending the time it must have taken you to formulate and write all that! (My own priority when writing at such length is to focus on the subject matter of my Economics essays or Accountancy articles, which I am still contractually obliged to submit bi-monthly.) Indeed, pace i tuoi amici […]

Economic Perspectives – 25 REFLECTIONS ON RECENT TAX HYSTERIA [Early December 2017] Where we are now on the subject of taxation – clueless and lost! Widespread “tax-dodging” is the surest sign that our “tax-raising” process is seriously defective! Why doesn’t our existing tax system raise enough money to meet all government commitments? The reason is […]

ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES 19 Does Labour respect sanctity of private property? Lessons to be discerned from the tragic Grenfell Towers fire transcend the immediate questions on cladding, stairwells, sprinklers, alarm systems, escape routes, incandescent materials and faulty appliances. Far more has been revealed than a recital of fire regulations in need of modernisation. The political exploitation […]

Dear Emile and Godfrey, I think the reason that Mises did not address taxes in either Liberalism or Human Action is that both are about production and not about spending. We Austrians know that government must exact a tax for what it spends. There is no avoiding this iron law. If government is limited to […]

Actions arising from short-term expediency can be tempting. They may hide, but can never negate, the underlying principle. Obedience to the law is a principle that applies even when that law itself appears unprincipled. Google, Amazon, Facebook and others have for many years exploited jurisdictional tax-rate differentials to minimise their liabilities. The style of compliance […]

The  cost  to  our  exchequer  of  tax  complexity  is  highlighted  by  the  government’s  recent   attack  on  “umbrella”  companies  set  up  by  employees  wishing  to  shelter  behind  a   corporate  veil  to  avoid  PAYE  and  national  insurance  levies.  The  Treasury  slapped  a  £1   million  fine  on  the  Ministry  of  Defence  for  its  failure  to […]