Amidst the debates about ‘austerity’ a number of vital debates in public finance have been sidelined. Because the reductions in government spending – small though they have been so far- have been designed to reduce the government’s borrowing requirement, there has been little discussion of whether the size of the state should be reduced in order to facilitate long-run reductions in the burden of taxation. This book traces the history of the growth of the size of the state over the last 100 years whilst also making international comparisons. There is a particular focus on recent and projected future developments which shows that, though the total level of government spending has not decreased significantly in recent years, there has been a big redirection of spending from some areas to others. The authors then examine the evidence on the relationship between taxation and economic growth. As well as reviewing recent literature, they also undertake new modelling that higher taxes are detrimental for growth. In the final part of the book, the whole UK tax system is reconsidered in a proper economic framework. The UK has one of the world’s most complex tax systems and its incoherence has increased over the last five years. Sweeping reforms are proposed to the system which wold involve abolishing around 20 taxes and the development of a simple, predictable tax system based on principles that should gain wide acceptance.
About the author
David B. Smith studied economics at Trinity College, Cambridge, and the University of Essex before working as a macroeconomic modeller and economic forecaster, predominantly in banks and security houses, from 1968 to 2006. He was also a Visiting Professor at the University of Derby from 2006 to 2014 and Chairman of the IEA’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee between 2003 and 2014. David has published numerous papers on topics such as fiscal policy, monetary issues and financial regulation since the mid 1970s. His IEA monograph Living with Leviathan: Public Spending, Taxes and Economic Performance gained the IEA’s Arthur Seldon Award for excellence in 2007.
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