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There is, moreover, a second crucial difference between the two types of scheme: the Child Benefit strategy would continue to make transfers to families with children at all income levels. This means that we have to consider issues of equity, not just between rich and poor, but also between those w…

In the past, the impact of high marginal tax rates lower down the scale was dismissed on the grounds that many people had little discretion about their working hours or intensity of work. However, even if that were true in the past, it has become less so in a labour market where there is greater fl…

[...] in the case of valuable properties there should be provision for payment in the form of equity participation in the value of the house. Such a provision would help, for example, pensioners living in a valuable house who have a relatively small cash income. [...]

[...] people are taxed on the amount received rather than the amount left, as happens under the current system. [...] With a progressive rate structure, this switch would provide a direct incentive to spread wealth more widely. People could pass on their wealth tax free if it were transferred to pe…

In my view, we should be focusing on the overall net worth of the state, not just the national debt. The proper objective of fiscal policy should be a return to a situation where the state has a significant positive net worth. Of course the reduction of the national debt would contribute to this en…