The impossibility of perfect neutrality: fundamental issues in tax reform

<p>The tax treatment of saving in the UK is far from uniform. Saving can take many different forms and there are almost as many different tax regimes. This mosaic of different regimes is not the result of a coherent policy toward saving, but rather the lasting by-product of a wide variety of ad hoc responses to changing circumstances over the years. That the Chancellor called this year's Budget a 'Budget for savers' testifies to the importance accorded to this area of tax policy. The introduction of four separate measures-the establishment of 'Tax-Exempt Special Savings Accounts', the abolition of the composite rate tax, the large increase in the maximum investment for Personal Equity Plans, and the abolition of stamp duty on shares transactions-illustrates, however, its continuing complexity.</p>