‘Independent expert’ and tax lawyer Dan Neidle is raising the alarm over Gordon Brown’s call for a slew of gambling tax hikes. Neidle published a blog this morning in which he warned that whacking enormous taxes on the industry inevitably hits the gambler, not the gambling companies, and that the Institute for Public Policy Research’s (IPPR) proposal is flawed. If even Neidle is saying it…
“We need to be careful about trying to raise additional revenue from “sin” taxes. The revenue may be less than we expect, and what revenue we do receive may (in economic terms) come from customers rather than the businesses making the sale.
Personally I see compelling arguments for reducing the harms caused by gambling; but I’m unconvinced tax is a good tool for doing that. Regulation may be a better approach.
A tax increase may still be worth doing as a revenue-raiser. But any argument for an increase needs a more robust revenue estimate than the IPPR’s use of a static calculation and illustrative tables. And it needs to acknowledge who is actually paying the price.”
Rachel Reeves is nonetheless laying the groundwork to introduce such a sin tax at the budget anyway. Maybe Dan will be putting in a few calls to dissuade her…
J.D. Vance warned about free speech “on this side of the Atlantic” during a sit-down press conference in Chevening with David Lammy just now. An issue on which the UK is an embarrassment…
Vance chose his words carefully when a hack reminded him of his previous criticism of the UK and Europe on the matter:
“I think the entire collective West, the transatlantic relationship, our NATO allies, certainly the United States under the Biden administration, got a little too comfortable with censoring rather than engaging with a diverse array of opinions. So that’s been my view. Obviously, I’ve raised some criticism and concerns about our friends on this side of the Atlantic. But the thing that I’d say to the people of England or to anybody else, to David, is many of the things that I worry most about were happening in the United States from 2020 to 2024. I just don’t want other countries to follow us down what I think was a very dark path under the Biden administration.”
A sober warning. The US Vice President asked if Lammy had anything to add. To which the answer was no…
BBC News at One has featured independent MP Rupert Lowe mistaking some rowers for small boat migrants on social media above the resignation of a Labour minister in its programme. Nothing to see here…
Lowe’s X gaffe from this morning featured as the fourth item on the bulletin at the top of the hour – reserved for the biggest stories of the day. Ali’s resignation did not get into the bulletin at all…
Coverage of the tweet plus an interview with the rowers then continued at 17 minutes past the hour. For anyone to hear a peep about Ali’s resignation late last night they would have to wait until 21 minutes into the programme when it was given three minutes. On some days BBC News at One can get about 2.5 million viewers…
On the BBC News website Lowe is prominently featured – the Ali story isn’t there. Who’s interested in scandal and sleaze anyway…
The Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill has today warned that inflation is now at a higher risk of remaining persistent. The Bank of England growing increasingly cautious on another rate cut…
In yesterday’s monetary policy briefing the BoE said inflationary risks are up since May. Pill said in a briefing just now that “there is some shift in the balance of risks on inflation… At the margin, there has been an upward shift in inflation risks for 2-3 years’ time. There is a risk of spillover into more persistent inflation.” Unemployment is acting as an “offsetting factor”…
The BoE has said that inflation is set to peak at 4% at September after rising to 3.5% in the second quarter of the year. Andrew Bailey yesterday said domestic effects such as vehicle excise duty and additional taxes were pushing up inflation. Reeves will not be enthused by high inflation covering pretty much the length of the parliament…
Entries in the comments…
Downing Street is blocking the public launch of Rayner’s Office for the Deputy Prime Minister. Farcical…
Rayner’s staff have been working away since 21 July in the Cabinet Office. A public launch has been penned in and delayed numerous times now by Downing Street – there is even a logo. The operations of the office were briefed to the Times for a colour piece last Friday. Labour sources point the finger at Starmer’s Principal Private Secretary Nin Pandit for acting as the block on the power base. Pandit is far from the most popular senior figure in Downing Street. A source there tells Guido she is highly abrasive with a low capacity for delivery…
Along with her ODPM office Rayner has a separate DPM’s policy unit based back in the housing department on Marsham Street with separate staff. What is Starmer so afraid of?
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”
