Low-tax or high-welfare? The UK must decide what type of country it wants to be

By Christopher Adam, Professor of Development Economics, University of Oxford
İrem Güçeri, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Oxford

Headlines about tax in the UK being at an all-time high abounded after the autumn budget. The current overall tax take, at 35% of GDP, is indeed a historic high for the country. And the measures announced in the budget will take it to 38% by the end of the parliament.

Yet, contrary to what some might have you believe, it is only high by British standards.

If the UK wants a decent welfare system in the coming years, it’s time to start doing things differently. But this can’t just mean…

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