Andy Burnham, the Labour Party Prime Minister-in-waiting and new MP for Makerfield, has been urged to scrap six taxes and replace them with a single levy. A letter from prominent economists and campaigners calls for replacing income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, and national insurance contributions with a unified “national contributions” system.
Economists back single tax proposal
The letter is signed by Jim O’Neill, an ally of Burnham, along with Jonathan Portes, economics professor at King’s College London, and Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation. It is also backed by John Muellbauer of Nuffield College, Oxford, and Professor Henrietta Moore of University College London.
Moore said: “Prosperity 2030 is about rebuilding the systems that shape everyday life, work, care, housing, skills and the cost of living. It is a plan for an economy that measures success by whether people can live secure, dignified and hopeful lives.”
Tax system ‘broken’ and costly
The letter states: “Taxes in Britain are rising faster than in any comparable economy while public services deteriorate. The country spends £100bn a year in debt interest, more than the entire defence budget and equivalent to half of NHS spending.” It adds that “seven prime ministers in 10 years have inherited the same challenge and failed to solve it for the same reasons: the problems are structural and systemic.”
Critics question workability
However, some experts have voiced doubts. Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates questioned whether the single levy is workable, highlighting potential implementation challenges.
