Delicious LiveJournal Links for 12-23-2008

[andrewducker]

• 60,000 households to pay tax at 90 per cent
  That's 60,000 _poor_ households in this case.
  (tags: UK tax benefits)

Comments

[the-locster.livejournal.com]

Most politicians don't understand basic economics. Also, I've always thought that hard thresholds in tax and benefits systems are pretty dumb - they're effectively trying to approximate a continuous/smooth function in the name of making things more simple - and in doing so they create disinsentive to work for some people, tax loopholes and basically just make the tax system far more complex than it need be....which in turn requires a small army of civil servants to operate. Stupid stupid stupid!

[matgb]

Most politicians don't understand basic economics.

Palpably true, unfortunately.

Weirdly, those that do are disproportionately in the Lib Dems, I have no idea why, but it makes me happy.

Vince is a PhD, Huhne used to work as an economist and I own one of his books (bought before I'd heard of him), Laws has a double first from Cambridge.

The best the Tories have got is a few decent Oxford PPEs, which really don't count.

far more complex than it need be....which in turn requires a small army of civil servants to operate

The marginal withdrawal rate has long been an absolute disgrace, flat tax and a Basic Income PLZKTHX.

[drjon.livejournal.com]

"on their additional income", which is still bloody appalling, but not quite as horrible as First Reading would indicate...