Think tank proposes five tax changes

The Government could save almost £7 billion a year by 2022/23 by tweaking five existing wealth taxes and subsidies, a think tank has argued.

Scrapping the lifetime and help-to-buy ISAs, reforming or replacing council tax, and clamping down on inheritance tax loopholes were among the suggestions made by the Resolution Foundation.

Other recommendations included making pensions tax relief more progressive and limiting entrepreneurs' relief.

The report predicts that as the UK population ages, the cost of public services will rise by £36bn a year by 2030, and £83bn by 2040.

Torsten Bell, director of the Resolution Foundation, acknowledged that making changes to wealth taxes would be "politically difficult" - but said it would help fund this growing cost.

Bell said:

"The good news is that relatively large sums can be raised simply by tightening up our existing wealth taxes and subsidies.

"That is how we protect our public services without placing all the burden of taxation on hard-earned income from work."

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