A terrace of brick houses covered in letting agents' To Let boards
Aug 5, 2026 Analysis

Property118’s tribunal win – it doesn’t help their clients; it looks vulnerable to appeal

We wrote in 2023 about a complex landlord tax avoidance scheme sold by an unregulated firm called Property118. HMRC subsequently opened enquiries into Property118’s clients, and determined that the firm should have disclosed the scheme. The First-tier Tribunal has just published a ruling on the narrow question of whether the scheme should have been disclosed […]
A tax to fund social care
Jul 27, 2026 Analysis

A modest proposal for a new tax

I have a brilliant idea for a new tax. The rules are simple: This is, obviously, insane. Except it’s real The above description is, near enough, how catastrophic adult social care costs work in England today. The deck of cards is the DHSC’s own estimate that “one in seven individuals over 65 will face care […]
First Minister John Swinney speaking at a Scottish Government podium
Jul 25, 2026 Analysis • Policy

New data suggests Scotland’s 48p tax rate may be losing money

People often talk about the Laffer curve: the idea that if you raise a tax beyond a certain point, you may in fact reduce revenues. Laffer curve effects are rather more common in newspaper headlines than in actual tax data. But that may be about to change – we’ve a new analysis showing that Scotland’s […]
New Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey
Jul 21, 2026 Analysis

John Healey should cut National Insurance, not raise the personal allowance

We have a new Chancellor – and it looks like a tax cut may be surprisingly high on his agenda. Andy Burnham has said the freezing of income tax thresholds was “the thing I heard the most on the doorsteps”, and that it was “lodged in my mind”. The personal allowance – the amount you […]
Photo of Nigel Farage in the House of Commons
Jul 17, 2026 Investigations

Reform may owe tax on Nigel Farage’s £5m gift

Christopher Harborne, a British-Thai billionaire, gave Nigel Farage £5m in 2024. Genuine gifts are usually tax-free, and when this article was first published our conclusion was that the £5m was probably not taxable. On 15 July 2026 the Guardian reported that in March 2024 – a few weeks before the gift – Mr Farage told […]
Satellite image of the UK
Jul 12, 2026 Analysis

What would a land value tax actually do?

I just wrote in the Sunday Times about the political and economic case for a land value tax. I think the principled argument for LVT is compelling, and our (likely) next Prime Minister has supported it for many years., calling it “aspirational socialism”; a 2022 LBC interview described LVT as “a very productive form of […]
a map of England showing the projected impact of a £1.5m mansion tax
Jul 7, 2026 Analysis

What if Andy Burnham lowered the mansion tax threshold to £1.5m?

The November 2025 Budget introduced a “mansion tax” – formally, the “high value council tax surcharge” – an annual charge on homes worth £2m or more. The Mail on Sunday has reported that Andy Burnham may lower the threshold to £1.5m. We’ve looked at what that might mean: who would pay, where the properties are, […]
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Jul 7, 2026 Policy

Taxing British citizens abroad: why a passport tax won’t work

If you’re a US citizen then you pay US tax wherever in the world you live. Americans can’t escape the US tax system simply by moving abroad; they have to give up their citizenship. The Liberal Democrats and others have suggested the UK should adopt something similar: a “passport tax” on British citizens living overseas. […]
photo of Andy Burnham speaking to a conference
Jul 3, 2026 Policy

37 ways Andy Burnham could raise £4.7bn

Keir Starmer announced £15 billion of additional defence spending – £4.7bn of that is currently unfunded. That leaves Andy Burnham, expected to become Prime Minister, with a problem. Where is he going to find £4.7bn? One answer would be to cut spending. However, I expect the politics are such that Mr Burnham will not do […]

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