A flat income tax rate of just 27% could fund a Basic Income in the USA of $9,000 per annum, virtually eliminating poverty, increasing disposable income and reducing effective taxes across the board. I was recently challenged to come up with a scheme that would fund a basic income in the USA at a level…
How a Basic Income would reduce taxation
The efficiency of a Basic Income would mean that less tax revenue would be required to support redistribution of wealth than the current tax and benefits system The most common criticism of a Basic Income is that it would be too expensive. “We simply can’t afford it,” “It would require a huge increases in taxes,”…
How a Negative Income Tax could more effectively deliver a Basic Income
Using a Negative Income Tax mechanism to deliver A Basic Income could decrease the tax burden, especially on those who work for a living. The assumption of much of the discussion around Basic Income/Citizens Income is that it will require a huge increase in taxation. This is not an unreasonable assumption given that most Basic…
The lessons from the Swiss basic income referendum
Just having a referendum on a Basic Income proposal was a huge step forward, but we must still learn the lessons from its emphatic rejection by Swiss voters. It’s easy to criticise a bold act that has fallen short of its objectives, so let me start with praising those who petitioned the Swiss…
How much do we have to work just to pay to access our own land?
The average home owner in the UK will work for nearly 7 years (or 1/7 of their working life) while the average renter will work for 13 years (or 1/4 of their working life), just to pay for the land they inhabit. That represents as much as 14% and 25% respectively of their entire working lives…
Don’t get angry. Don’t get even. Get Paid!
A basic income paid to all citizens and funded by a land value tax would create the foundations for a fair and prosperous society and avoid ugly social and political tensions. History seems to be repeating itself in the developed economies of the world with the rise of the far right in much of Europe…
How a Basic Income combined with Land Value Tax could work in the US
A Land Value Tax equivalent to 5% of the value of property would provide revenue to pay every adult American a Basic Income of $9,400 as well as help generate growth and reduce all other taxes. In my previous article about Why Land Value Tax and Universal Basic Income need each other I set…
Why Land Value Tax and Universal Basic Income need each other
Land Value Tax can generate the funds needed to introduce a Basic Income, while a Basic Income makes the clearest case for taxing land values. There are many people and groups now lobbying for the introduction of a Basic Income (Also referred to as an Universal Basic Income, Unconditional Basic Income, Citizen’s Income, Citizen’s Dividend, Negative…
Tax avoidance is much closer to home than you think
Coverage of David Cameron’s troubles in recent weeks over potential tax avoidance using offshore trusts in exotic tax havens has mostly missed the point. As far as we know, he did in fact pay full UK tax on the small capital gains he made via the offshore trust that his father had managed. We also…
A deal that will transform the UK economy
For the last generation, the UK economy has become dysfunctional, sluggish, excessively indebted and of benefit only to a minority of citizens; namely rent-seekers, the wealthiest 1% , land and other asset owners and, to some extent, pensioners. The Transformation Deal is a proposal to restructure the economy so that it functions effectively and serves…
The Transformation Deal 