Delighted that @TheIFS got @SmartThinktanks awards for Think Tank of the Year & Best Publication
Testament to the hard work of all my fabulous colleagues
Also great to see the UK with such a vibrant set of think tanks
Revaluing properties isn't the "huge challenge” it's often made out to be. We don’t need inspectors going door to door. We just need political will.
Great to see @HelenMiller_IFS making the case for council tax reform in this week's Treasury Committee.
Some personal news... I am absolutely thrilled to have been appointed as the next IFS Director.
I love the IFS and all of the wonderful people it attracts. Getting to serve as the director is a huge privilege and a delight!
Lots of questions about Employer NICs today. They are a tax on the earnings of working people. In the long run, expect the majority of a rise in employer NICs to be passed on to workers in the form of lower wages.
Preannoucing/trailing a stamp duty holiday is mad. It will (obviously) stop people buying/selling houses until the cut.
@RishiSunak should now enact an imediate cut or rule out the idea
@Steven_Swinford@PhilAldrick
📢Some important background info for those reading the Chancellor’s budget tomorrow –
If she increases employer NICs, it will raise a lot less revenue than appears on the scorecard – i.e. the overall tax rise will be much smaller than first appears
This is because …
Will big tax cuts for high earners boost growth?
Evidence from US shows tax cuts for the rich have small effect and lead to less employment growth than tax cuts for lower income. ⬇️
It’s the end of an era @TheIFS
Today is @PJTheEconomist’s last day.
He’s been a fantastic Director and will be greatly missed 🥹
To celebrate the handing over of the baton we have …
I sound like a broken record, but it’s still true that..
The more the Chancellor wants to rely on lots of little taxes, the more important it is that she also reforms those taxes so that they are fairer and less damaging to growth.
🥳NEW WEBSITE on tax!
As part of our (@TheIFS) mission to inform public debates, we’ve set up IFS Taxlab – a new ‘one-shop shop’ for impartial explainers, answers and data on tax.
This is a new venture with lots more to come. 1/n
As @DanNeidle highlights - we definitely did not recommend a one-off wealth tax
Nor did we recommend any other tax rises - we never do because it's a political choice!
@TheIFS report sets out the pros and cons of a large list of options & highlights the merits of tax reform
Parties have ruled out raising income tax, NICs or VAT.
I've been asked about this a lot . Here's a thread
TL;DR: its a mistake, for a few reasons.
I've also written about this for the FT
Where did the money for yesterday's tax cuts come from?
Here's the one chart @TheIFS summary of the Autumn Statement. Tax cuts were matched almost 1-for-1 by cuts in the real-terms generosity of public service budgets.