h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just read this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1458000/1458302.stm

It strikes me as odd that they needed a survey to tell them that when you put the price of something up, people will buy it cheaper if they can. Did nobody in the UK government do economics at school?

PS: Moderators - please note the above is a BBC.co.uk link. Thank you.

The problem is that we require to raise broadly the same tax revenue as anyone else in Europe, but most other European countries have vastly higher income taxes. Thus, we have to have excise duty, National Insurance and a range of other taxes-by-another-name to make up the difference.

Those who most vehemently oppose tax harmonisation also seem loudest in their complaints about those areas where we tax higher than elsewhere. Obviously we are supposed to have low tax on lorries and DERV, but retain our lack of road tolls. The missing billions can then be raised through "efficiency savings" in the same way that the NHS is supposed to support cash cuts through "efficiency savings" in the 15% of their budget which is not taken up by staff, whose salaries are set by central government. Turn off the heating, I say - if they want warmth they should have gone private.