BySteve Forbes,
Forbes Staff.
Given how much our political, legal and economic institutions owe to the influence of Great Britain, the startling degeneration of our mother country takes on special significance—and worry.
The government’s just-unveiled budget is the latest example of how this once influential nation is falling apart. The budget is a blueprint for stagnation. Taxes are going up yet again, with scores of increases of all kinds. Individual income tax brackets will not be indexed for inflation. The more inflation, the bigger the tax burden on wage earners. The amount of tax-free contributions people can make to their private retirement funds will be slashed. Higher-priced houses will face a new property tax. Exactions on dividends and interest payments for upper-income folks will go up. The level of deductions for certain business investments will be reduced. A special capital gains penalty will be applied to entrepreneurs who sell their businesses to their employees. Where in the world did that idea come from? There will even be a levy on milkshakes.
Tax revenues are slated to reach 38% of GDP by 2030, the highest ever. Spending outlays are reaching French-like levels. No wonder economic growth is almost nonexistent. Normally, under such circumstances officials would be rolling out cuts in tax rates and incentives for saving and investing to fire up the economic engine.
