Treasury Committee hears evidence on tax policy
25 January 2011
The Treasury Committee has begun oral evidence on the fundamental principles of tax policy. The Committee heard from two panels, the Mirrlees Review team, followed by a panel of experts from the industry
Background
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports that the tax system should distort economic incentives as little as possible and that;
"corporate taxes are the most harmful type of tax for economic growth, followed by personal income taxes and then consumption taxes, with recurrent taxes on immovable property being the least harmful tax."
The Mirrlees Review, published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), argues that the tax system should be considered as a whole with the benefit system, seek neutrality, and achieve progressivity as efficiently as possible.
The Office of Tax Simplification has revealed that there are over 1,000 reliefs in the UK tax system.
The Treasury Committee last year decided to launch its own inquiry into the principles which should underpin the tax system.
More about the inquiry: Fundamental Principles of Tax Policy