The government cannot raise more in tax

Any new tax the government tries to introduce will be self-defeating, says Matthew Lynn. Only spending cuts can save Britain's economy.

There are a nervous few days ahead for anyone with spare money. You can't open the paper without seeing leaked plans for a new tax.

A mansion tax, perhaps, to be levied on houses worth more than £2m? A revaluation of council tax to take account of the rise in house prices over the last 20 years? A raid on the pension tax relief offered to high earners? Or the tycoon tax suggested by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, which would impose a minimum tax rate of 20% on everyone to ensure the super-rich didn't get away without paying their share?

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.