By Robert Henderson George Osborne is thinking about abolishing National Insurance (NI) as a separate tax and incorporating it into income tax. The implications of such a move would be very far reaching because the basic NI rules are complex, affecting far more than just NI deductions, and the practical IT difficulties it would create for both the… [Read More]
Joseph Schumpeter is more relevant today than ever before; it seems no industry is safe from digitalisation, automation and globalisation. Telemarketers, accountants and doctors are among a number of prime targets for a dose of creative disruption according to The Economist. Uber may seem like an existential threat to black cab drivers, but it is… [Read More]
The draft terms of the free trade agreement between the EU and Canada have been out for a year and are still being poured over by lawyers and translators from both sides. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström was overoptimistic in her prediction that this stage would be done by July. Next the European Council and Parliament… [Read More]
In July the government’s Skills Funding Agency announced the ‘Esol (English for speakers of other languages) Plus Mandation’ will be completely cut. Esol Plus was introduced to push jobseeker’s allowance claimants with poor spoken English to improve their skills. This comes after years of cuts to Esol since 2010 amounting to about 40%. The vast… [Read More]
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, of the right-wing Popular Party (PP), delivered a budget this week that he hopes will boost his chances in the general election later this year. The budget includes tax cuts, more government spending, and a 1% increase in public sector pay – the first since 2009. During the 2008 financial… [Read More]
Albania suffered under a harsh communist dictatorship from the end of the Second World War to the beginning of the 1990s. Personal freedom was limited during this period. Very few people were permitted to own cars and access to public transport was likewise limited. As a consequence, people were often forced to make their daily… [Read More]
A story in The Telegraph today entitled ‘EU pays jobless migrants to come to Britain’ explains how 1,178 EU citizens have used the ‘Your First EURES Job’ scheme to get a job here. In total 34.7% of jobs the scheme has placed people on have been in Britain, but only 25 Britons have found work through… [Read More]
Recruitment bodies, working in Europe and supplying the NHS, have apparently been making enticing promises that cannot be kept for example, the offer of unrealistic wages, free or discounted accommodation and language training. These bodies often have the audacity to target medical training institutions in European countries which themselves experience shortages of nursing staff. It is… [Read More]
Being competitive requires a comparative advantage. This is the logic behind devolving control of corporation tax to the Northern Ireland Executive. The prime minister announced the move last year with the expectation that Stormont would try to replicate Eire’s success by dropping the rate. The arrival of global giants like Google to Ireland’s shores has… [Read More]
Ever since David Cameron promised an EU referendum in 2013 there has been pressure on Labour to do the same. At times Ed Balls seemed supportive but former leader Ed Miliband always rejected Cameron’s EU position, hoping that Ukip was only a problem for the right. Labour lost the election and did indeed lose many… [Read More]