So where is the Laffer curve or the alternative to 50% taxes?

Ed Balls has bought out that good old political trick of higher taxes on the wealthy. As we all know, taxes on someone else are always a vote winning idea.

As the saying goes, if you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can normally rely on Paul's vote come an election.

What is harder to dispute is that 50% is above the Laffer curve. the report from the Treasury thus far is pretty inconclusive. Due to people shifting their incomes, in collusion with their companies, in 201/12, there is little real data to work on. We don't really know if lowering the tax threshold raised more money or not. Equally, due to the timing int he middle of a dreadful recession where tax receipts collapsed, we don't really know if it raised any either. Truthfully too, no one knows where the Laffer curve is or if it even exists; if it did real events will always interfere to skew the results anyhow.

The best that can be said is that in the round of £600 billion odd of public spending, the difference is a rounding error. But of course, politically, this is a good old piece of divisive us-against-them vote-winning.

For Labour, it smacks of desperation as they are opposed to every cut so need some sort of veneer to say they would raise revenue. For the Tories, they are left on the side of big business and 'the rich' - a homely pace but not one packed with voters (although election funding is at least sorted!).

Worse news for those of us who want to vote UKIP. Their policy of a flat tax has also had real problems in the real world. Most of the EU Countries who have applied it also have an equivalent of National Insurance too. Except that the NI is often 30%+, so the nice flat tax of 10% ends up equating to 40% odd anyway.

You just can't escape the need to tax in Countries where social spending is so high and increasing all the time as the population grows and ages.

Personally, I think this is great politics from Labour - useless economic policy, but then they have that mark anyway, it hardens their anti-rich vote which outside of SE England is the key to power for them.

50p's time is up...only if the 3 party politics is up

Really, the Telegraph and other think they can push the end of the 50p tax rate into the budget with a media campaign.

Of course, figures might suggest that the tax is not very effective but let's think about the Politicians who are leading us. I am struggling to think of a more anti-business set of politicians, the last Labour Government included. They raise VAT, put up the 50p tax, bash any kind of money making culture, reduce capital allowances for investment, won't back their own back to work schemes. More likely, they raise more taxes on property and gift more away in benefits.

As a political strategy this they hope will eek back the ground against Labour. The consensus of anti-business sentiment in the 3 main political parties is strong. Only the Tories should offer salvation but they take their votes of the self-employed and business focused citizens for granted.

It will be a long time before anyone in our political system moves to a pro-business start. It's time for UKIP or other parties to try and lead this charge as those in the lights as the moment have shown they are not up to it.