Tax

In today’s Times, Chris Dillow congratulates Alastair Darling on getting himself out of a hole (although over a million people are still going to be worse off) over the 10p rate. He also discusses the proposition that borrowing is a tax on future generations. Quite interesting.

Where I differ with Dillow is in this: ‘He seems to have learnt what Gordon Brown didn't as Chancellor - that the best way to help the low paid is to lift them out of the tax system altogether’.

I believe that everybody should pay some tax, to give them a sense of civic responsibility and to give them an incentive to campaign for the tax to be reduced. No one is going to push for smaller government if it is effectively free.