I posted this video on YouTube this morning: The transcript is: I am deeply offended by welfare for wealthy people. Now I don't particularly like the term welfare because I think that ‘social security’ or ‘benefits’ are much better terms than welfare, but it happens to work quite nicely in the context of making payments to the wealthy that they don't deserve. What payments am I talking about? Well, since 2021, the Bank of England has increased its base rate of interest from 0.1 per cent to 5.25 per cent. And as a consequence, as we all know, vast amounts of extra interest has been charged in ..read more

As the Guardian notes this morning: Unilever is to scale back its environmental and social aims, provoking critics to say its board should “hang their heads in shame”. They added: On Friday, the London-based firm’s current chief executive appeared to signal a strategic U-turn for the company, which is valued at £94bn on the London Stock Exchange. In an interview with Bloomberg, Hein Schumacher confirmed plans to water down the company’s ethical pledges on a range of issues including plastic usage and pay. There really can be no surprise here. Labour is expected to win the first term of wha ..read more

I have my regular weekly column in the National newspaper this morning. In it I discuss the potential consequences of the SNP government in Scotland having already created a quite successful, internationally recognised, foreign policy with regards to Gazza that is distinctly different from that being adopted by the government in London. The implications of Scotland having an identifiably separate foreign policy from the rest of the UK are quite significant. Firstly, it aligns Scotland with states like Ireland and Spain, which are calling for a ceasefire by all parties in Gazza. Secondly, it al ..read more

Rishi Sunak has launched am attack on what he calls ‘the sick note culture’. I am, quite frankly, appalled. Sunak is one of the richest men in the country. He has admitted that his family uses a private GP, let alone private healthcare for more complicated issues. He is protected by privilege and wealth from the stresses that impact millions of people in the UK. The possibility that a person might suffer stress as a consequence of their inability to work out where their child’s next meal might come from, or how they might keep a roof over their head, or how they might provide childcare when th ..read more

I have just posted this video on YouTube: The link is here in case it is needed. The transcript is: Why is there no national insurance on investment income in the UK? I can't explain that. If you work for a living, and most people watching this video will probably either have worked for a living before they're retired or will be working for a living now, you pay national insurance on your earnings. Quite a lot of national insurance, in fact. Jeremy Hunt has reduced the rate to 8 per cent for most people at present, but it's still a significant additional to your tax. However, if you live off ..read more

This tweet was published by the Equality Trust (whose work I recommend) yesterday: The overwhelmingly clear message is that the rate of inflation for those on lower incomes - many of whom will be private renters - is much higher than the reported rate of inflation for the UK as a whole. The reasons are clear. First of all, the rate of inflation on essential items like food remains above CPI as a whole, as Office for National Statistics data makes clear. Second, and as I noted here this week,  rents are currently rising at a rate equivalent to the overall rate of inflation suffered by tho ..read more

The IMF has been sending out some very confused signals from its spring meeting, being held in Brazil this week. If I have read the bulletins that I have received correctly, and appropriately interpreted them within the context of the UK, which some of them specifically address, then the messages appear to be at least fourfold. Firstly, they are not convinced that the risk of inflation in the UK is over as yet, and so are demanding caution. Second, they have downgraded UK growth expectations for the year to well under one percent. That appears realistic, especially if in response the their dem ..read more

AccountingWEB published this podcast interview with me yesterday. We talk about the Taxing Wealth Report 2024 in the main, but also about my concerns about the failings of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. It was a lively interview, with quite a lot of animated comment by me, if I am honest. I have an affection for AccountingWEB. I was a contributing editor for about a decade ..read more

I have just posted this video on YouTube. Why are we imposing tax rates only designed for those with much higher incomes onto students earning little more than the minimum wage? It makes no sense, at all. The transcript is: Why are so many people paying up to 38 per cent tax on quite, well, average levels of earnings in the UK? As we know, the basic rate of income tax on earnings up to £50,270 a year in the UK in 2024 is supposedly 20%. Supposedly, but not actually, of course. If you earn your income from work, you also pay National Insurance. And that adds 8 per cent to the bill. And then if ..read more

The FT editorial this morning says: I agree with all that. But then the FT reveals its spots. Having implied that changes to rules on non-domiciled people and on private equity might not be justified, it says: But politicians need to factor in the cumulative burdens of doing business in Britain, and the wider signals they are sending. Wealthy individuals are footloose, and other countries — with more generous tax offers — are ready to take them. Push too far, and the tax base will also fall. With a nod and a wink the FT is promoting the idea that the so-called 'wealth creators' will leave i ..read more