Tom Waters
@TomWatersEcon
Associate Director @TheIFS | PhD candidate @UCL Work on tax & benefit policy and labour markets
I quite often get asked what I think about a wealth tax. A very good "elevator summary" of the economics of a wealth tax, from the indefatigable @StuartAdam_IFS, out today
Had a really good time on The Briefing Room with @DAaronovitch talking about the welfare bill Check it out! bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00…
Govt was planning to save ~£5bn in 2029-30 through welfare cuts – would have risen to ~£11bn in long run Now, govt will save nothing this parliament (2029-30 savings from cutting health element of UC (£1.7bn) roughly offsets cost of raising basic UC (£1.8bn))
IFS say when Clause 5 is taken out (it is actually still in the Bill that just passed) the net revenue raise of the legislation is MINUS £100m - is it increases the welfare bill a little… Can’t see how this situation remains though.
What do the changes to the UC & PIP bill do? Until an hour ago, it contained 3 major reforms: ❌Tighten PIP eligibility - saves £2.6bn in 2029-30 ✅Cut health element of UC - saves £1.7bn ✅Raise basic UC - costs £1.8bn If the first goes, the bill COSTS £0.1bn in 2029-30
NEW: Changes to health-related benefit reforms would reduce saving from the planned bill by £3 billion in 2029–30, but would create a huge difference in support between claimants. Read @TomWatersEcon, @LatimerEduin and @matthewoulton’s new briefing here: ifs.org.uk/articles/chang…