RichardJMurphy

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

Labour abandons hope https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/08/labour-abandons-hope/. Any party seeking power without a vision or plan and with no hint of hope on offer does not deserve to be elected. That is where Starmer is putting Labour after abandoning its green commitments. Politics rarely witnesses something quite as incompetent as this. He's managing it.

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

The IFS says the next government will fail because it won’t be able to cut the national debt, without ever questioning why doing so should have any priority when government services are failing https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/25/the-ifs-says-the-next-government-will-fail-because-it-wont-be-able-to-cut-the-national-debt-without-ever-questioning-why-doing-so-should-have-any-priority-when-government-services-are-failing/ As ever, the Institute for Fiscal Studies asks a rubbish question and comes up with a rubbish answer to justify the continuation of austerity.

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

Removing the domicile rule would be a rare smart move by Jeremy Hunt https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/29/removing-the-domicile-rule-would-be-a-rare-smart-move-by-jeremy-hunt/. I have campaigned to get rid of the domicile rule for almost twenty years. Hunt doing that would be good by me, and it might also force Labour to talk sense about government funding - which would be no bad thing.

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

When do we admit that we live in a state where the rule of law no longer applies? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/08/when-do-we-admit-that-we-live-in-a-state-where-the-rule-of-law-no-longer-applies/

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

Labour’s Gaza motion is a new low from Starmer https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/20/labours-gaza-motion-is-a-new-low-from-starmer/. Labour is happy that 2 million people, who are mainly women and children, should be collectively punished for the actions of Hamas. That is utterly unacceptable. The innocent victims of war need protection now.

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

Of course people are angry: we have totally useless politicians whose sole aim is to destroy government services. Why wouldn’t people be angry? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/26/of-course-people-are-angry-we-have-totally-useless-politicians-whose-sole-aim-is-to-destroy-government-services-why-wouldnt-people-be-angry/. Politicians wonder why people are angry with them and want to crack down on protest whilst the likes of Ed Balls and George Osborne suggest that the real answer is to deny people any political choice for 20 years. Why wouldn’t people be angry when faced with arrogant incompetence on this scale?

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

People are noticing that we have politics almost wholly disconnected from what people want or need https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/12/people-are-noticing-that-we-have-politics-almost-wholly-disconnected-from-what-people-want-or-need/. How long can this continue before something has to change?

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

The opposite of a certainty is not an uncertain uncertainty https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/13/the-opposite-of-a-certainty-is-not-an-uncertain-uncertainty/. Our old, supposed, certainties are being replaced by something deeply troubling, but undoubtedly known even if not admitted as yet.

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

HMRC have deliberately taken tax collection out of our communities and the price that we are paying for that is very high https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/21/hmrc-have-deliberately-taken-tax-collection-out-of-our-commintiies-and-the-price-that-we-are-paying-for-that-is-very-high/. Over the last decade, HMRC have shut local tax offices and almost stopped visiting small businesses to inspect their records. The small business tax gap has skyrocketed as a result. The cost might exceed £6 billion a year for corporation tax alone right now, which is vastly more than the sums HMRC saved. This policy needs to be reversed.

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

Why don’t we teach young people about tax and finance? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/25/why-dont-we-teach-young-people-about-tax-and-finance/. We teach RE compulsorily in schools, and every child ignores it. We do not teach about the real-world financial skills everyone needs. Why have we got our priorities on basic financial literacy so wrong?

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

When the economy is gutting the middle class the Tories have created we are in trouble https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/20/when-the-middle-class-is-being-gutted-by-the-economy-the-tories-have-created-we-are-in-trouble/. When middle-class couples (let alone single parents) cannot afford what they think to be a fair standard of living and live in fear of financial insecurity, the Tories and all their policies are well past their sell-by dates. Which makes in a particular problem that the Labour Party has adopted them.

RichardJMurphy, 5 months ago to random

Selfishness cannot be the basis of society https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2023/12/26/selfishness-cannot-be-the-basis-of-society/. We live in a world that is dominated by economic thinking that presumes that all we are capable of being is selfish. If one thing has destroyed society over the past forty years then this single assumption is it. Can we get over it? To do so we have to defeat the privileged arrogance that drives it.

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

Unless we put the UK’s wealth to work for social purposes, we really are in very deep trouble https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/28/unless-we-put-the-uks-wealth-to-work-for-social-purposes-we-really-are-in-very-deep-trouble/. The UK has a financial wealth of £8,100 billion, but councils are having to crowd-source funding to make investments in climate change-related projects. This makes no sense. When will we change ISA and pension rules so that the £70 billion pa spent subsidising these arrangements is used to a) create new investment in the economy and b) to support climate change-related activity?

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

Labour is claiming that £28 billion of investment in climate change a year is not possible. But that’s not true. That’s Starmer’s choice. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/09/labour-is-claiming-that-28-billion-of-investment-in-climate-change-a-year-is-not-possible-but-thats-not-true-thats-starmers-choice/. All the money and much more that Labour needs to spend on climate change is readily available to it. In this post, I show how in some detail. In that case, Labour's claim of unaffordability and the situation having changed does not stack. It's Starmer's choice not to do this.

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

You could have a wealth tax raising a few billion or major reforms to existing taxes that could raise £100 billion or more? Which would you prefer if you wanted to tackle inequality? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/17/you-could-have-a-wealth-tax-raising-a-few-billion-or-major-reforms-to-existing-taxes-that-could-raise-100-billion-or-more-which-would-you-prefer-if-you-wanted-to-tackle-inequality/. If Oxfam and Patriotic Millionaires want to reduce inequality why are they calling for wealth taxes when there are so many better options available to both tackle this issue and raise tax revenue?

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

Samuelson on the legacy we leave for grandchildren https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/03/samuelson-on-the-legacy-we-leave-for-grandchildren/ Labour won't invest in our future for fear of leaving debt to our grandchildren when all they can actually leave is a planet unfit for them to live on. How can they have got this so wrong?

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

The UK economy is just a tale of one failed decision after another https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/22/the-uk-economy-is-just-a-tale-of-one-failed-decision-after-another/. The UK is a mess. We could spend weeks discussing why or just agree it's because the belief in markets embodied in neoliberalism has profoundly failed us and left us facing disaster on many fronts. The real question is, what are we going to do about it?

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

Labour and the nocebo effect https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/04/labour-and-the-nocebo-effect/. The nocebo effect is the opposite of the placebo effect. Is Labour deep in its grip?

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

Suppose we got rid of the management pretence that public services can be run by trusts? What would that save? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/16/suppose-we-got-rid-of-the-management-pretence-that-public-services-can-be-run-by-trusts-what-would-that-save/.I have always hated the pretence that pubic services can or should be supplied by trust structures modelled on private sector ethics, including the denial of responsibility for universal supply. What would we save if we got rid of them? My suspicion is that the gains would be significant.

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

First they came for Just Stop Oil https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/06/first-they-came-for-just-stop-oil/. This morning I have shared a list from an old friend, the environmentalist Jonathon Porritt. In it he makes clear just how dangerous are the attacks now being made on our human right to dissent in this country and asks, quite appropriately, where are Labour and the big NGOs on this issue? Are they selling us out too?

RichardJMurphy, 5 months ago to random

The Post Office makes clear that modern capitalism is all about reward without responsibility https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/11/the-post-offthe-post-office-makes-clear-that-modern-capitalism-is-all-about-reward-without-responsibility/. The Post Office is bust. But, its directors enjoy an indemnity for their actions. And that tells us everything we need to know about modern capitalism: it's all reward without risk.

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

Watching Bank of England personnel telling us how they are controlling inflation reminds me of a child on a fairground ride. The child is sitting in a model car, complete with steering wheel, pedals and levers, but of course they don’t do anything. The car is going where the ride takes it, but the child is certain they are controlling it by turning the wheel and pulling the levers. And when the ride stops and they get out safely, they’re certain it was their actions that got them there …

RichardJMurphy, 5 months ago to random

Why won’t UK politicians address the biggest part of tax evasion in the UK, which is caused by the absue of limited liability companies due to poor state regulation? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/02/why-wont-uk-politicians-address-the-biggest-part-of-tax-evasion-in-the-uk-which-is-caused-by-the-absue-of-limited-liability-companies-due-to-poor-state-regulation/. HMRC has got new powers to find petty tax cheats on eBay as from today - whilst ignoring the massive problem that its failure to properly tax fraudulent limited companies has created. The effective regulation of companies in this country is long overdue. So why will no politician talk about this?

RichardJMurphy, 5 months ago to random

Taxing Wealth Report 2024: The UK needs an Office for Tax Responsibility https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2023/12/19/taxing-wealth-report-2024-the-uk-needs-an-office-for-tax-responsibility/. The governance of the UK's tax system is dire. HMRC is unaccountable. There is no direct ministerial line of responsibility. Parliament does not have the power to investigate, and HMRC marks its own work when preparing tax gap data. We need an Office for Tax Responsibility reporting to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee to create necessary accountability.

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

Truss is promoting an agenda that explicitly permits the powerful with a grudge to abuse anyone they wish with impunity https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/07/truss-is-promoting-an-agenda-that-explicitly-permits-the-powerful-with-a-grudge-to-abuse-anyone-they-wish-with-impunity/.Liz Truss is trying to force the Conservatives into a very dangerous place. This is beyond far-right. This looks like fascism. It has to be described as what it is, and if Trump can be and is described as such so can she.