Reports
Earning vs owning: Rescuing opportunity in the asset economy
This report from UK think tank IPPR puts forward a new typology of wealth and expands the conversation from wealth tax to a broader range of policy instruments. Life chances are increasingly determined by what you inherit, not what you do. But what can we do about it? More people own assets today than in...
Biting the bullet
This report from UK think tank Localis explores funding local government in this Parliament and beyond. The financial problems facing local government in England are well rehearsed. The deteriorating impact of shrinking budgets on public services and the state of the public realm formed an important part of the Labour Party’s platform of ‘change’ in...
More, more, more
This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation puts the autumn budget 2024 decisions on tax, spending and borrowing into context. This has been the most anticipated Budget of modern times. It had to wrestle with profound – and sometimes conflicting – challenges: fixing the strained public services; repairing failing public services; and breaking...
A capital idea?
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines a change of approach to helping small firms to increase their investment. SMEs will have a key role in closing the UK’s investment gap with other economies. However, to ensure that SMEs can make such a contribution, a more strategic policy approach towards SME...
The British entrepreneur
This report from UK think tank Onward looks at how startups can put Britain back in business. Britain can unlock a new generation of entrepreneurs and inspire growth among small businesses with major reforms to tax, regulations and lending. Too many small British businesses are unable to grow, leaving the country reliant on 1% of...
Bookkeepers or changemakers? Understanding the chancellor’s choices ahead of the budget
This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at understanding the chancellor's choices ahead of the budget. Voters believe the government should be "changemakers, not just bookkeepers." New polling from IPPR and Persuasion UK reveals the public want ministers to focus on investing in public services rather than just balancing the budget.
The UK’s international tax competitiveness 2024 update
This report from UK think tank the Centre for Policy Studies calls for the Chancellor to focus on fundamental tax reform to stoke economic growth. The UK ranks a dismal 30th out of 38 OECD countries in the 2024 edition of the International Tax Competitiveness Index, published today by the US-based Tax Foundation. This extremely...
Farewell Non-Doms
This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at how non-dom reforms can damage Britain’s finances. A new paper from the Adam Smith Institute (ASI), entitled Farewell Non-Doms: How Non-Dom reforms can damage Britain's finances, reveals the economic cost of scrapping the non-dom status. Its research suggests that if this policy was...
Low capital gains tax is not a sensible way to support entrepreneurs
This report from UK think tank IPPR argues that raising Capital Gains Tax is the fairest way to generate revenue for fixing our public services. Raising Capital Gains Tax in the upcoming budget is the fairest way to generate revenue for fixing our public services. It won’t affect working people, nor will it discourage entrepreneurship,...
Fiscally responsible
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines the case for reforming remote gaming duty. Online casino gaming is currently undertaxed by the UK - compared to other sectors and other countries. Ahead of the Autumn Budget 2024, this report makes the case for increasing the tax on online casino gaming, and...
Great expectations in hard times?
This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation will preview the big decisions for the Chancellor in the new Government’s first Budget. In this briefing note, we put the big decisions faced by Chancellor in the new Government’s pivotal first Budget into context, discussing the new – and old – spending pressures faced, how...
How does the OBR estimate the demand impact of government policies?
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government explores the role of fiscal multipliers in economic forecasting. It is important for the government to get as clear an idea as possible of how any measures it announces at fiscal events – budgets and spending reviews – might impact the economy, and to what...
Budgeting better: How the UK could start to improve its fiscal framework and boost growth
This report from UK think tank IPPR considers how to work towards a better and more comprehensive fiscal framework. The new Labour government’s growth mission is to make the UK the fastest growing economy in the G7. But growth is low, and UK is at the bottom of the G7 for investment, and the plans...
Breaking Blue: Why the Conservatives suffered a catastrophic election defeat and the route back
This report from UK think tank Onward examines why the Conservatives suffered a catastrophic election defeat and the route back. Breaking Blue, the largest UK post-election study of its kind, reveals the short, medium, and longer-term causes of the historic outcome and the route back to power for the centre-right. In a major collaboration with...
Overton window
This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at policies for a better Britain. This discussion paper stands back from the constant cut-and-thrust and point-scoring of everyday politics to examine what a better Britain might look like if some of its problems were addressed by imaginative and long-term solutions. As it shows,...