Solving the Tax Puzzle: Eight popular, pragmatic, pro-growth tax reforms to plug the fiscal hole

The government is in a seemingly impossible financial spot. In the autumn budget it must find a way to either cut spending or raise taxes to meet its fiscal rules. Its tax decisions have so far cost it precious political capital and it is under pressure from the right to avoid any further tax rises.

At Demos, we understand there are no easy choices. We see that the only way through these predicaments is to have open and frank conversations with the public about the choices facing us. In this context, this report set out to thread the needle to find popular, pragmatic and pro-growth options to raise tax, by asking the public what choices they would make and what messaging would convince them. We hope it helps expand the Overton window and open up opportunities for an optimistic path forward. We focus on reforms beyond raising the headline rates of the big three taxes: income tax, national insurance and VAT.