Monday, April 27, 2009

Closing Notices   [Mark Steyn]

I've had my differences with Andrew Lloyd Webber over the years (although he was very supportive re my free-speech troubles in Canada when I saw him in London a while back). But he's bang on about Britain's new 50 percent tax rate:

Here's the truth. The proposed top rate of income tax is not 50 per cent. It is 50 per cent plus 1.5 per cent national insurance paid by employees plus 13.3 per cent paid by employers. That's not 50 per cent. Two years from now, Britain will have the highest tax rate on earned income of any developed country.

I write this article because I fear the inevitable exodus of the talent that can dig us out of the hole we find ourselves in... Last Thursday I met with a thirtysomething guy. I absolutely depend on him in a highly technical area of theatrical production. For legal reasons he has to employ himself through his own company. Under the new tax regime, he will have to pay 13.3 per cent to employ himself before he pays himself anything. And then he will have to pay 51.5 per cent on what's left.

This is a guy at the cutting edge of his profession who works all over the world. He is in demand in every major territory where entertainment is produced. He has a young wife and two children. Last Thursday he told me that he and his wife had decided that the UK was no longer where they wanted to live.

There was a lot of that in the Seventies. And all that's changed is that, thanks to e-mail and FedEx and cell phones and whatnot, it's a lot easier to do global business from your chosen jurisdiction than it was 30 years ago. Andrew says he's not "a rich b*****d flying a kite for my own cause", but the comments crowd seem to think he is and scoff that these proposals will only affect 1-2 percent of the population.

Dream on. As I like to say about Obama's plans to raise taxes only on the rich, you'll be surprised what percentage of the population find themselves in "the richest five percent" by the time we're through. There are simply not enough of "the rich" to pay for what western governments are spending.

04/27 02:20 AMShare