Council tax, business rates and a raft of other taxes should be abolished and replaced with a simpler system, according to a new report published today.
Leading economists from the Institute of Economic Affairs have analysed the cost of high taxes and which taxes cause the most economic harm.
The report - entitled Taxation, Government Spending and Economic Growth - found Government spending in the UK is considerably higher than in other countries such as Switzerland, Australia and Ireland. It argues the UK has a ‘very badly designed tax system’ that has a significant negative impact on growth.
It is calling for the abolition of 20 taxes including council tax, corporation tax, alcohol duties and national insurance.
Mark Littlewood, director general of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: ‘The economic evidence is clear: spending is far too high and the tax system is far too complicated.
‘This new report provides a rigorous approach to discovering and documenting the size of the state and how government spending and regulation affect the wider economy. But, most importantly, the authors have undertaken an original statistical analysis of the economic costs of high taxes and, which of those are the most pernicious.’
