11/27/2008 11:54:41 AM EST
Margaret Thatcher: Rescuer of England?
posted by Erik
On the subject of Margaret Thatcher, who was discussed yesterday, I found a web site referring to the 98% tax rate, although it seems as though it might be biased...
http://www.ncpa.org/edo/bb/
2004/20040517bb.htm
"In 1979, the basic tax rate was 33 percent and the top rate went as high as 98 percent--83 percent on wages and an additional 15 percent surcharge on so-called unearned income such as interest and dividends."
I don't see how you could add the 83 percent tax on wages with the 15 percent tax on something completely different, if someone can explain how this quote makes sense, please indulge me.
"On May 4, 1979, Conservatives won control of Parliament, making Mrs. Thatcher prime minister. She quickly set about implementing her agenda. Just one month later, the basic rate of taxation was cut from 33 percent to 30 percent and the top rate on wages went down from 83 percent to 60 percent. In subsequent years, the basic rate was reduced to 25 percent and the top rate lowered to 40 percent."
She cut taxes, not too much of a surprise there, and I think we can all agree that even 83 percent is pretty steep, but let's get real, those were not low-income earners. Here in Sweden, there was a big news story of a famous author whose taxes added up to a total
marginal tax rate of 102% in 1976.
The author in the TYT interview, Claire Berlinski, seems to claim that an optimal taxation would amount to 14% of GDP, which would mean slashing all taxes in half. Of course, according to her, the income would be greater. Thus cutting taxes in half would
more than double the GDP.
I. Am. Sceptical.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik
i/List_of_countries_by_tax_
revenue_as_percentage_of_GD
PAs you can see, the US is hardly in the top.
"Mrs. Thatcher resigned as prime minister in 1990 and joined the House of Lords in 1992. Even her sternest critics admit that her reforms were necessary and beneficial to the country."
It rather seems to me that a lot of Brits nowadays are very critical of Thatcher, to an extent that I wonder whether it's really deserved. After all, she was popular enough to stay in power for a decade in her day, and as far as I can make out the labour government that preceeded her had failed. Any British Young Turks who would care to comment?
