Who can we tax?

Labour doing their utmost to talk themselves out of winning the next election

This neatly encapsulates the economic illiteracy of this government. They are not in the least concerned with wealth creation — only with redistributing wealth to their friends in the unions and special interest groups. The cost of this myopia is stark: a record number of young people not in work or education, record-high taxation, an economy on its knees, unemployment at 5% and rising, and government borrowing costs that recently reached levels exceeding those that triggered the Truss meltdown of 2022. The Tories deserved a good kicking at the last election, but the country does not deserve this shambolic excuse for a government. Two years into Labour's first term in office in 15 years, they are behaving like a Manchurian candidate — hell-bent on destroying the UK from the inside out.

Every government inherits problems. The test is whether it reaches for the same tired tools or has the imagination to do something different. Too often, the focus seems to be on redistribution rather than growth, innovation and wealth creation.

The concern is that taxation has become the default policy response to almost every challenge. Successful economies do not become more prosperous by continually redistributing a fixed pool of wealth. They grow by encouraging enterprise, investment and productivity.

At some point, the conversation has to shift from how we divide the pie to how we make it bigger. Otherwise, we risk managing decline rather than creating prosperity. Without a stronger focus on growth, we are simply rearranging deckchairs on a very expensive, heavily taxed ship.

Pat McFadden's reported comment reflects a frustration many business owners recognise, the perception that as the government faces fiscal pressure, businesses, entrepreneurs, investors and higher earners are often seen as the first source of additional tax revenue. The concern is not necessarily about paying tax, but about the cumulative impact of repeated tax increases and policy changes that impact confidence, the attractiveness of investing and growth in the wider economy.

Small businesses create jobs, generate tax receipts and drive local economies. by exacerbating a system that rewards inactivity and can encourage unemployment, the balance is wrong. The government needs to focus on promoting people to up skill, to aspire to contribute to get rewarded and on driving growth rather than stifling it.

This comment will depend on the context it was used however, if it is clearly that raw, it makes me sick to the core. Millions of people in the UK of all ages get up every day to go to work- some have multiple jobs. All to ensure that they are paying for those that don’t always have the same pride or ethic. Labour bleat on with their rhetoric on the importance of business but this shows their lack of knowledge and understanding of the basics. In 2yrs they’ve managed to do what no other government has done- become the most unpopular and be the most despised yet the PM still hasn’t got the memo. With all the notes in these papers, there must be plenty to just give him the push he and the Chancellor need. The damage they have done is still repairable but comes with other concerns. Rather than taxing just about every possible morsel, looking at the systemic root cause of these problems and a good financial review of their spending may help! Another fine mess this shambolic lot are in!

My 8yr old helped wash my car at the weekend. I gave him a fiver, should get a call from the Labour front bench any day now!
This message exchange is damming, the confirmation of a ‘Tax All’ approach. It’s definitely anti-growth and ironically anti-labour. It hits the hard workers hardest.