Coalition says ‘arbitrary and nonsensical’ rules are penalising work and discouraging investment
Thinktanks from across the political spectrum are urging Rachel Reeves to use this month’s budget to overhaul the “broken” tax system, including abolishing stamp duty and merging income tax and national insurance.
The group, which ranges from the rightwing Adam Smith Institute to the leftwing New Economics Foundation, published proposals for sweeping “pro-growth reforms” the chancellor could introduce to “tax all income from work equally”.
A separate report on Wednesday from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) urged Reeves to make “brave choices” and look for an extraordinary £50bn of spending cuts and tax rises to triple the size of her fiscal buffer.
The chancellor left the door open to the first rise in the basic rate of income tax for 50 years in a speech on Tuesday and the thinktank coalition called on her to prioritise reforming the tax system in her 26 November budget, as well as raising additional revenue.
