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 […]
Cash is our preferred method of payment
Jul 1, 2026 Analysis

How Andy Burnham could raise £15bn – without a tax rise.

It’s the UK’s biggest and least discussed tax problem. There’s between £30bn and £48bn missing from each year’s small business tax bills. It’s been getting worse – and nobody knows why. There’s no other issue where so much money is at stake but so little time is spent discussing it. It’s almost never mentioned by […]
redacted tax return
Jun 26, 2026 Analysis

The Palace’s fake tax transparency — and the Prince of Wales’ real tax problem

The Royal Household has, for the first time, disclosed how much voluntary “tax” the King pays: £12.9m for 2024/25, £11.7m for 2023/24, and a little over £5.4m for the six months of 2022/23 in which he was King. The documents also continue the practice of disclosing the Prince of Wales’ tax: £7.76m for 2024/25, £8.34m […]
CGT over time - the chart looks like someone having a heart attaack
Jun 18, 2026 Policy

The history of UK capital gains tax in five charts

This article looks at the history of UK capital gains tax, and how revenues have changed when the rate and rules changed. There’s a separate article on reforming CGT here. The chart at the top of this page shows what happens if you plot UK capital gains tax revenues as a % of GDP since […]
Who benefits from the VAT cut? Micro up to 9 employees Small £1,900m 10-49 employees £2,280m McDonald's £432m Mitchells & Butlers ee 248m aE Whitbread £238m Medium —— soo King 50-249 employees Ss Wetherspoon £1,470m Ps WS £194m Other larg 250+ employees £2,014m Compass KFC Stonegate Domino's Uber Eats fees Nando's Deliveroo fees Just Eat fees IHG hotels Greggs Marriott hotels Accor hotels @ Hilton hotels
Jun 12, 2026 Policy

The £12bn VAT cut for hospitality. Who really benefits?

The hospitality industry is lobbying for a VAT cut from 20% to 10%. The political case is simple and compelling: save pubs, restaurants, cafés and hotels; protect jobs; save high streets. The campaign says it’s self-funding and pro-growth. The reality is different. It’s a hugely expensive subsidy, likely costing more than £12bn a year. 45% […]

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