EconomicsToo

This Guardian article reports on the IMF Fiscal Monitor that has said raising taxes on the richest would have a net positive impact on the economies of wealthy nations. The report states that higher taxes on the wealthy would reduce inequality and would not lead to a slow down in growth...as long as the tax was not excessively progressive, that is! Inequality remains one of the most serious issues the planet faces; some economic theory suggests that a more progressive tax system is the solution. Greater tax would be levied on the rich which is then distributed to lower income earners in the form of goods and services (merit and public); this may be in the form of cheaper healthcare or education. However, progressive taxation has been out of fashion since the 1980's. Why is this the case? Joseph Stiglitz shares some insightful reasons in "The Price of Inequality" (2012) and expresses that 'government capture' by corporate and wealthy interests means that those...

Here is a short post on a Year 12 student's thoughts regarding the recently unveiled plan to implement a sugar tax across Britain in 2018...Original post here . I mage source The March 2016 budget revealed Chancellor George Osborne's plan to levy a tax of up to 20% on soft drinks and other sugary products in the United Kingdom in an attempt to shadow the results of Mexico, where a sugar tax cut sales of sugary drinks by 12% during 2015. The tax aims to combat the rising obesity that has become endemic to Britain and burdens the national healthcare system whilst simultaneously acting as a fundraising tool to boost government revenue. Economically, the motivation for this tax is sound but could it actually be an effective tool to reduce the domestic consumption of sugar or is a lower obesity rate a distant dream? The rationale behind this tax is that it will simply increase prices which should suppress demand and therefore reduce consumption. Proponents ar...