One of the many features of the United Kingdom is its strange persistence in looking to the past to provide policy. Perhaps not so odd when you consider that we still have a House of Lords for an upper chamber, which includes clerics! It still has an hereditary head of state with all the pomp and circumstance that entails. Traces of the past linger on in other ways particularly when it comes to taxes to fund local services and alternatives to the current system. The previ

Let us assume that all local authorities paid council tax with the same share as the England average. Namely 3.1% for the full tax and 4.6% for those on 0.75 of the full tax. This is an exercise designed to further display the current inequalities in council tax as a means of funding local government. Results As might be expected, where earnings are higher people would pay more and vice versa. Of those analysed Nottingham would see the biggest fall of 40%, followed by Corn

Much is made of inequalities in the Council tax system. Invariably it seems commentators, lobbyists and politicians focus on the fact that people with more valuable properties pay less than those in less valuable properties. Ostensibly this appears unfair yet this approach fails to recognise that what is actually important is what share of income is taken by council tax. Methodology This analysis attempts to address that issue. To do so council tax for Band D properties

When discussing taxes on income lobbyists invariably refer to the marginal rate of tax for high earners implying that this is a significant level of taxation. But the correct figure to use is the total tax paid as a share of total income. This gives a more realistic number. Data on earnings and tax and National Insurance paid can be derived from the PayPrecisePremium UK Salary Tool. This allows for a comparison of different levels of earnings. It does of course not allo

Various groups, free market lobby groups in particular, trot out a variety of assertions about housing issues. In essence they want more houses built as they live in a mythical world where supply and demand are the only shows in town. Lack of supply The lack of supply theory of why there are housing problems falls apart when any analysis of the evidence is performed. Its dominance reflects its simplicity ‘its supply and demand innit?’ and the pervasive influence of vocifer

Where land use is changed through the granting of planning permission from agricultural to residential development its value increases. The same applies when land changes use in an urban area. Critics of this uplift usually suggest that it is unearned and therefore should be captured through taxation and used by central or local government to fund local activities. Summary Where land use is changed through the granting of planning permission from agricultural to reside

Main points From January to December 2025, there were 100,911,620 guest nights spent in short-term lets in the UK. There was an 11.5% increase in guest nights in 2025 from the previous 12-month period, January to December 2024 (90,507,070). Wales had the largest increase in guest nights among individual UK countries, rising by 17.4%, from 6,282,250 in 2024 to 7,374,780 in 2025. The North East saw the biggest percentage rise in guest nights, increasing by 22.2%, from 2,2

To conclude this series of posts on taxes on earnings and wealth some final thoughts and proposals. Introduction Analysis of the data on earnings and wealth reveal that it is neither possible nor sensible to treat them as separate issues. A silo approach is not appropriate as they are obviously closely linked. People with high earnings find it easier to accumulate assets than people on low earnings. It is debateable whether high earnings are appropriate anyway. People w

To conclude this series of posts on taxes on earnings and wealth some final thoughts and proposals. Introduction Analysis of the data on earnings and wealth reveal that it is neither possible nor sensible to treat them as separate issues. A silo approach is not appropriate as they are obviously closely linked. People with high earnings find it easier to accumulate assets than people on low earnings. It is debateable whether high earnings are appropriate anyway. People w

One issue seemingly ignored by politicians and commentators alike is that different types of assets/wealth yield different levels of earnings if at all. The failure to understand this creates a situation where policies can be devised which create more problems than they solve. Summary There is a misconception that assets/wealth equate to affluence and that increases in value are in effect increases in income. But we could misquote the line from Anna Karenina in the novel

Summary Energy use is clearly linked to income, the higher someone’s income the higher the amount of energy consumed. The same applies to carbon output, the higher the income the higher the level of output. This is not surprising as carbon output is directly linked to energy use. Data Tonnes of carbon emitted range from 4.2 tonnes per annum for those in decile 1 to 22.3 tonnes for those in decile 10. Energy use ranges from 100 GJ for those in decile 1 to 279 GJ for those

Energy use can be used as a proxy for greenhouse gas emissions. The more energy used the higher the level of emissions. Income deciles run from 1the lowest to 10 the highest. Summary Detailed analysis of the data reveals some interesting points. Energy use is clearly linked to income, the higher someone’s income the higher the amount of energy consumed. The average energy use is 155 gigajoules but those in deciles one to six use less than this while those in the top deci

Energy use can be used as a proxy for greenhouse gas emissions. The more energy used the higher the level of emissions. Income deciles run from 1-the lowest to 10 -the highest. Summary Detailed analysis of the data reveals some interesting points. Table 1 sets out energy use by the main components for each income decile. Energy use is clearly linked to income, the higher someone’s income the higher the amount of energy consumed. The average energy use is 155 gigajoules b

Energy use can be used as a proxy for greenhouse gas emissions. The more energy used the higher the level of emissions. "The analysis of data from 2019 highlights “significant inequalities” in energy use across the country. Those in the top 10% of incomes used nearly three times as much energy in a year as people in the bottom 30%. This was particularly true for transport. Car journeys and flights taken by the richest British people – especially “white, wealthy middle-age

Recent research from the High Pay Centre outlines the gross inequalities in earnings between those at the top and the average worker. “Median CEO pay stood at £5.2 million and average at £6.2 million Median CEO pay increased 15% and average 19.75% from the year before for the same group of companies The median employee pay increase was 4.85%, while the average returned 6.23% The median CEO to 25th percentile employee ratio was 127:1, while the average was 144:1 The median

With government finances in dire straits according to some economists and commentators (though they appear unaware of how government finances actually work!), discussion has turned to the issue of wealth and whether and how to tax it. Despite having a certain appeal, people find it galling that there are individuals who are obviously very wealthy and often flaunt it – yachts spring to mind or expensive mansions, its more problematical than appears. For one thing how to me

The question of wealth is one that generates debate amongst commentators and politicians. Great disparities in wealth are regarded by some as a problem – evidence of an unequal society with all that that implies. The response of those seeking to rectify inequalities includes taxes on wealth and or the transfer of wealth. The former often suggest a % charge on wealth over a certain threshold. The latter including inheritance taxes, recent changes to which for farmland have

This is part 2 of this section on tax revenue. Data contained in a House of Commons (HoC) library report shows the tax receipts for the year 2024/25. The main elements are: Income tax £306 billion, VAT £173 billion and National Insurance contributions £171 billion. Tax £ Billion % share Income tax 306 30.3 VAT 173 17.1 NICs 171 16.9 Other taxes 100 9.9 Corporation tax 98 9.7 Council tax 47 4.7 Capital taxes 41 4.1 Business rates 29 2.9 Fuel duty 24 2.4 Tobacco and alcoh

Data contained in a House of Commons (HoC) library report shows the tax receipts for the year 2024/25. The main elements are: Income tax £306 billion, VAT £173 billion and National Insurance contributions £171 billion. Tax £ Billion % share Income tax 306 30.3 VAT 173 17.1 NICs 171 16.9 Other taxes 100 9.9 Corporation tax 98 9.7 Council tax 47 4.7 Capital taxes 41 4.1 Business rates 29 2.9 Fuel duty 24 2.4 Tobacco and alcohol 20 2.0 Total 1009 100.0 [House of Commons Lib

Summary Private pension wealth is related to an individuals earnings and capacity to save money for a pension. Higher earners put more into their pension pots than lower earners. Higher earners also get more tax relief thus adding to the future pension earnings. Data from 2022 suggested that 929,000 savers had pension wealth of between one and two million pounds. In the Taxing Wealth report of 2024, a number of reforms were mooted including limiting the rate of tax relie