DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Use windfall to scrap the business tax hike
As we know from a wealth of experience over recent years, economists can predict anything… except the future.
From failing to foresee the financial crash, through Brexit, to the inflationary spiral, they’ve frequently been proved either asleep on the job or spectacularly wrong.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) seems intent on holding up this ignominious record.
Created in 2010 to provide independent analysis of the UK’s public finances, it has been about as reliable a forecaster as weatherman Michael Fish on hurricanes.
Yesterday the watchdog sheepishly admitted that public borrowing has come in at a whopping £30.6billion less this year than it had predicted. This is why the advice of the OBR – stuffed with ex-Treasury mandarins and wedded to the old economic orthodoxies – should be treated by ministers as a guide, not holy writ.
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: It would be disastrous for the country – and the Conservatives – if Mr Hunt’s stubbornness were to strangle the growth Britain desperately needs
Self-assessment, capital gains and inheritance tax receipts have soared thanks largely to the freezing of thresholds and allowances – leading to record revenues.
So what will Chancellor Jeremy Hunt do with this massive windfall? He could hoard it in the Treasury like some old miser. He could pour it into the bottomless pit of the NHS and welfare.
However, if – as he claims – he has a genuine desire to kick-start the economic recovery, he will redistribute this bonanza in the form of tax cuts.
The corporation tax rate is due to rise by an eye-watering six points overnight to 25 per cent, deterring investment and threatening jobs. Mr Hunt must take the traditional Tory course and use this surprise surplus to defer this damaging hike.
This paper understands his desire to reduce debt and repair our creaking public finances. But it would be disastrous for the country – and the Conservatives – if Mr Hunt’s stubbornness were to strangle the growth Britain desperately needs.
Perils of child vaping
There is little doubt that vaping – inhaling a vapour containing nicotine through an electronic device – is less harmful than smoking cigarettes.
Normally containing less nicotine and none of the tar or other toxins found in tobacco, it can be highly useful in weaning smokers off their habit.
However it is addictive and not enough research has been done on the possible long-term damage done to the lungs – especially of those who start young. So chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty is right to attack the ‘appalling’ marketing of vapes and e-cigarettes to children by some firms.
While it is illegal to sell them to under-18s, they often come in bright colours and fruity flavours, clearly to attract youngsters.
A Commons committee warned children were being drawn into using them, creating a new generation of nicotine addicts.
Even the Vaping Industry Association is calling for stricter regulations, the licensing of retailers and fines of up to £10,000 for those who sell vapes to under-18s.
It’s surely time for the Government to heed its advice.
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: A Commons committee warned children were being drawn into using them, creating a new generation of nicotine addicts
More rotten apples
If Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley is in any doubt about the scale of his task in cleaning up the force, two cases today confirm how big it really is.
Following other recent scandals, six officers have resigned after making sick jokes about model Katie Price’s disabled son as well as Auschwitz, and revolting remarks about female and ethnic minority colleagues on a WhatsApp group.
Separately, a PC convicted of carrying out a sexual act on a train was inexplicably allowed to keep his job. We don’t doubt Sir Mark’s sincerity but such cases show he has a long road to travel.
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: If Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley is in any doubt about the scale of his task in cleaning up the force, two cases today confirm how big it really is
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