IEA: Growth stifled by tax and regulations
Mark Littlewood, director general of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), comments in advance of the OBR forecast and chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn statement:
“The government must focus on radical supply-side reform if economic recovery is to continue.
“The government should be looking to reduce taxes, shorten the overlong tax code, simplify planning regulation, and cut the vast swathes of red tape that make it hard to do business in this country.
“Giving businesses more freedom over hiring and firing, cutting maternity leave entitlements and getting rid of the minimum wage are specific reforms that the coalition should aim to target.
“Such moves would be helpful not just for businesses, but also in getting millions of struggling people into work.
“Economic growth in the UK is often stifled by a great deal of invasive regulation and a byzantine tax code – one of the longest in the world – which costs businesses billions of pounds each year merely to comply with.
“Recovery will be achieved through private sector growth, and the government must do all it can to let private businesses flourish.”
