Madsen Pirie, author of Think Tank and the co-founder and President of the Adam Smith Institute, has written a piece in City A.M., with his 'wish-list' for tomorrow's budget. Here's what he had to say:
CURBING public spending keeps down borrowing rates, but we need a growth agenda, too, and specifically we need encouragement for the entrepreneurs who will create the new wealth and the new jobs of Britain’s future.
We don't need a few more token sums available to approved borrowers; we need instead a shift that favours and exalts entrepreneurship. I have backed enterprising friends setting up new companies and have seen the obstacles they face. I watched Regius Cigars achieve success with top quality Nicaraguan cigars against the odds, and want the UK to develop a culture that facilitates and rewards such ventures.
The 50p top tax rate raises no money. Many analysts point out that when the damage it does to the economy is included, it loses revenue. It punishes achievers and reinforces the toxic message that success is somehow antisocial. We should instead be encouraging others to emulate the success of the achievers, and encourage the achievers to invest in those attempting to follow them.
The income tax threshold should be raised to £10,000 and then to £12,000 to take people at or below the minimum wage out of income tax. This makes employment more attractive and benefits less attractive, and increases the pool of those willing to work. Crucially, the chancellor should set up a group tasked to find ways of making self-employment easier, removing in one go many of the burdens faced by start-ups. We want a clear message from the Budget: Britain backs its entrepreneurs.