"She is some 40bn short, but she's not short of super-abundant advice. But though everyone knows tax rises are coming, neither she nor the prime minister are rolling the political pitch to explain why this must happen and expound the choices. Above all, now is the time to illuminate first political principles the civic and moral virtues of taxation itself, which is not a burden but the price of civilisation."
"On what would have been her 100th birthday on Monday, the right memorialised Margaret Thatcher, who ignited the nation's tax-phobia, setting off explosive wealth inequality. (A suitable memento is up for auction, her mother-of-pearl caviar set in a red leather Asprey box.) She redefined tax from a citizen's contribution to society to a cash-grab by a greedily wasteful state. You will always spend the pound in your pocket better than the state will, she used to say."
Six weeks remain before a budget that must deliver roughly £40 billion amid intense speculation and political risk. A prior pledge and public perception constrain options, and neither the chancellor nor the prime minister are effectively explaining why tax rises are necessary or what choices face voters. Taxation should be presented as a civic and moral duty—the price of civilisation—funding security, public services, neighbourhoods, and national stability. Voters should be reminded of the effects of past cuts, that Britain is relatively low-tax compared with neighbours, and offered a values-based contrast to Thatcher-era tax-phobia.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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