ESRI Policy Seminar: “Tax without Design – Recent Developments in UK Tax Policy”
Venue: ESRI, Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2
Speaker: Paul Johnson, Institute for Fiscal StudieS
This paper considers the development of tax policy in the UK over the last decade or so and assesses policy change against a low bar – consistency and coherence. While the current government has followed some consistent policies, notably in aspects of corporation tax, there are few signs of a wider coherent strategy. Recent governments have complicated the rate schedule for direct taxes, reversed direction on policy towards pensions and CGT, failed to deal with problems in indirect tax, made a mess of environmental taxation, made the taxation of housing even more incoherent, and introduced added uncertainty in some areas of business taxation. The need for reform, and a clear strategy for reform, remains as pressing as ever.