"Stamp duty is a way to siphon off some of the gains when a property transaction goes through. Capital gains tax allows the state to take a slice of wealth after a sale. Never mind that both taxes deter people from buying and selling. It allows everyone to avoid the clearer, fairer annual tax on wealth that many economists support."
"The betting is now that she will instead raise money from a series of stealth taxes, citing a review of the economic outlook as suggesting she can get away without breaking the manifesto commitment not to raise one of the big three taxes. Less than two weeks ago, with her sums showing Britain deep in the red, the chancellor signalled she would begin talking to the nation openly about the difficulties of providing 21st-century public services"
"The prospect of grasping the political nettle was a reminder of Keir Starmer's approach immediately before and after the general election to put country first, party second, as he said in a speech on his return from seeing the king on 5 July. Country first appeared to be the guiding maxim as Reeves gave a speech arguing everyone should share the responsibility of rebuilding the state after years of austerity."
Large sections of the British electorate prefer tax increases to be imposed by stealth, leading chancellors since Nigel Lawson to favour indirect levies. Stamp duty and capital gains tax are used to capture gains on property transactions and sales while avoiding an annual wealth tax supported by many economists. Rachel Reeves appears poised to follow that pattern for her upcoming budget, abandoning plans to raise income tax and instead seeking revenue through stealth measures and a review of property taxes. She previously signalled an intent to speak openly about fiscal pressures and the need to rebuild public services after austerity.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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