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Since 1927 the leading authority on tax law, practice and administration

Joy of tax

12 January 2016 / Sarah Saunders
Issue: 4533 / Categories: Comment & Analysis , Income Tax
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What exactly is the purpose of tax?

KEY POINTS

  • A tax system should aim to be fair efficient certain simple and cost-effective.
  • Advantages and disadvantages of progressive and regressive tax systems.
  • Unexpected consequences of tax reliefs.
  • The UK tax system needs a radical overhaul.

 

What is tax supposed to do apart from keeping readers of this magazine in gainful employment? If I list all the things we expect it to cover I end up in a “what have the Romans ever done for us” sequence like in Monty Python’s Life of Brian. There is for example sanitation medicine education public health roads public order and peace. But if the sole purpose of taxation is to raise money to pay for all these services why is it...

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