High tax Britain

The government says that the forthcoming budget is going to be all about growth. And rightly so: the economy is still in the doldrums, and without much stronger growth than we are currently witnessing, the coalition has no hope whatsoever of balancing the budget by 2015. But few of the measures being trailed in advance are likely to have much effect, so long as Britain is stuck with a highly uncompetitive tax regime.   

International tax surveys highlight just how bad our comparative situation has become. According to KPMG, out of the 86 largest economies in the world, we now have the fourth highest top rate of tax. Even more striking is research from accountancy association BKR International, which calculated how much money high earners are left with after tax in the various G20 countries. In the UK, they get to keep just 41 percent of their earnings. That compares with 67 percent in France.