A new tax on plastic carrier bags or VAT on porn magazines could be the secret weapon the Chancellor needs to balance his budget on Wednesday.
Contacts: Viv Rees, Head of Communications: 0207 245 4109 (O)
07900220887 (M)
Press Office: Penny Finch; 020 7235 9381.
A new tax on plastic carrier bags or VAT on porn magazines could be the secret weapon the Chancellor needs to balance his budget on Wednesday.
These revolutionary fiscal measures are just some of the ideas produced by secondary school pupils from across the UK. The teenagers took part in the national Fantasy Budget Competition run by Bournemouth University and supported by the Chartered Institute of Taxation, CIOT.
With the Government seeking to encourage more youngsters to take an interest in politics generally and tax matters in particular, Gordon Brown could do well to take notice of the suggestions, which also include:
- Taxing plastic carrier bags – as is already done in Ireland
· A tax on households that produce more than three bags of non-recyclable rubbish every week
· A special tax on cigarettes bought abroad and brought back to UK. The money raised to be used to help fund the NHS
· Tax incentives for blood and organ donors
· Charging VAT on pornographic magazines to discourage sex crime – newspapers and magazines do not otherwise carry VAT
· A tax on aviation fuel to reduce pollution and runway congestion.
· Tax on office photocopying to promote an environmentally friendly, paperless, society. These and many more ideas came from pupils at over 100 schools that have taken part in the Fantasy Budget competition 2003. This is just part of the work that CIOT is doing in schools to increase awareness of how tax is raised and spent as well as the impact it has on our everyday lives. The CIOT has worked with teachers to produce teaching materials that will help them give pupils a better understanding of how tax affects them, especially when they leave school.
John Whiting, of CIOT and a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers says:
“The interesting and innovative suggestions that pupils came up with show they have an active interest in taxation and the way fiscal measures can be used to benefit society especially in terms of improving the environment. In just three months our “Tax Talking” teaching packs have been taken up by over 10%of the secondary schools across the UK. Responses from teachers and pupils have been surprisingly positive, given that taxation can seem a dull subject, and the suggestions in the Fantasy Budget bear this out.
Angharad Miller, senior lecturer at Bournemouth University School of Finance and Law, comments:
“The Fantasy Budget gives us a real insight into the way teenagers think the country should be run. The Government pays good money to think tanks and focus groups for blue sky ideas like these and whilst some are “off the wall”, others could really lead on to worthwhile policies.
Ends
NOTE FOR EDITORS:
A fuller list of the ideas – practical and impractical – from the Fantasy Budget 2003 is available from Viv Rees, Head of Communications CIOT. Tel 020 7245 4109 e-mail vrees@ciot.org.uk, or from the CIOT website: www.tax.org.uk
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) is the leading professional body in the United Kingdom concerned solely with taxation. The CIOT deals with all aspects of direct and indirect taxation. Its primary purpose is to promote education in and the study of the administration and practice of taxation. One of its key aims is to achieve a better, more efficient, tax system for all affected by it - taxpayers, advisers and the authorities. The CIOT’s comments and recommendations on tax issues are made solely in order to achieve its aims: it is entirely apolitical in its work. The 12,000 members of the CIOT have the practising title of “Chartered Tax Adviser.
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