OECD gives Australia the okay: Treasurer Oct 10, 2008
"Once the tax structure has been reformed, consideration should be given to indexing the personal income tax scales to inflation to reduce fiscal drag," the OECD said. 2008 Brought to you by. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Tax burden has not increased, says Manuel Aug 25, 2008
Manuel told parliament that as a result, the income tax brackets had been lifted significantly, and that this change had "more than compensated for fiscal drag". BUSINESS SERVICES. (Business Report, South Africa)
Ministers asked to look into mileage allowance rates Jun 14, 2008
The minutes of HMRC's Benefits ses Sub Group in April, go some way to explaining why HMRC is resisting a rate rise they say. "The Government decided not to increase mileage allowances (AMAPs) in Budget 2008 and announced that the rates would remain unchanged despite recent increases in fuel. AMAPs are not meant to reflect the actual costs of running a car, as one rate cannot cover all the different aspects of using a private car for business journeys, but are set at a rate that the Government... (Accounting Web, UK)
'Britons Paying More For Less And Less' May 12, 2008
The TPA says most of this is accounted for by "stealth taxes" or "fiscal drag" - failing to raise tax thresholds in line with earnings. The fastest growing tax was said to be stamp duty which now brings in 14. (Sky News)
South Africa: Manuel Keeps Country on Straight and Narrow Feb 21, 2008
Manuel could not extend as much largesse to individual taxpayers as in the past, but they will get R7,2bn in tax relief to compensate for fiscal drag. Electricity consumers will pay more, with a 2c/kWh levy that is expected to raise about R2bn in 2008-09 and R4bn a year thereafter. (allAfrica.com)
Dreaded 'R' word is a welcome omission Feb 21, 2008
7 billion in personal income tax cuts is insufficient relief for consumers it is generally seen only as an adjustment for fiscal drag. On a net basis, consumers are worse off than they were this time a year ago. (Business Report, South Africa)
No major tax reforms seen Feb 19, 2008
There are a number of standard issues that will appear in the Budget, including an allowance for bracket creep (fiscal drag) to compensate taxpayers for being pushed into higher tax brackets because of inflation, an increase in the threshold before income tax becomes payable and an increase in the tax threshold for household savings. Standard Bank economists suggest other issues that could be dealt with include progress on the comprehensive social security system and the simplification of tax... (iAfrica.com)
Bolters, faders, so many choices in Election Cup Nov 2, 2007
Out of former champion Fiscal Drag. Doesn't get much attention from tipsters, but a quiet achiever which can sneak up on you. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Darling's dilemmaBudget black hole puts more pressure on spending and taxes Oct 11, 2007
Two thirds of that increase will have come in announced tax rises - but the rest will derive from fiscal drag, where individuals are pulled into higher tax bands as their income rises but tax thresholds fail to keep pace. That means that of the average increase in real household income over these 16 years of 12,000, about 5,400 has been collected in taxes, and 6,600 has been retained by individuals to spend on what they like. (BBC News -- UK)
PBR 2007: Darling hunts for extra cash. By Alan Shipman Oct 10, 2007
Just as in 1979 the Conservatives realised they could appeal to Labour-voting households whose income tax burden had risen because of the failure to raise brackets with inflation, in 2007 they realised the same swing might be achievable by appealing over an IHT burden that had been similarly spread by fiscal drag. Having declined to call an election, partly because of this realisation, Labour has responded with its own upward adjustment to the threshold. (Accounting Web, UK)
Robert Rector Responds the The Wall Street Journal May 26, 2007
Rather than rebut my contention that low skill immigrants are a fiscal drag, it presents statistics about how much all immigrants, including college graduates, pay in taxes. Far from refuting my study, this tactic is either misleading or, at best, irrelevant. (Human Events Online)
Budgeting for some structural reform May 8, 2007
According to Access Economics, the cuts delivered over the last four budgets have gone beyond merely handing back fiscal drag - that is, they are bigger than if the tax scales had been indexed, to the tune of almost $8 billion a year - and are so detracting structurally from the surplus. Tax cuts tonight will add to that and, say some, will inevitably feed inflationary pressures at the risk of further rate hikes. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
What would Ronald Reagan do? May 1, 2007
Conventional economists were calling for a tax increase to dampen inflation and for the Fed to use monetary policy to offset the fiscal drag to prevent a recession ... Conventional economists were calling for a tax increase to dampen inflation and for the Fed to use monetary policy to offset the fiscal drag to prevent a recession. (Townhall.com)
Beware Of Brown's Last Budget Mar 11, 2007
This pulls more people into the next tax bracket, in a process known as 'fiscal drag. For example, in 1997, only 2. (Sky News)
South Africa: Aiming for Long-Term Security [opinion] Feb 22, 2007
He had managed expectations down so well that many in the market expected no more than the R5bn in relief for fiscal drag. In fact, there was R4bn more than that, and though this could in theory fuel consumer spending, putting pressure on the current account and interest rates, revenue officials argued yesterday that it was partly offset by other changes to medical and vehicle taxes. (allAfrica.com)
What Would Reagan Do? Push for Tax-Cut Permanency, Then for More Tax Cuts Feb 8, 2007
Conventional economists were calling for a tax increase to dampen inflation by reducing consumer demand and for the Fed to use monetary policy to off-set the "fiscal drag" to prevent a recession. President Ford was prepared to go along with them. (Human Events Online)
Brown 'faces 20bn funding gap' Feb 1, 2007
He could get his 10bn by relying on "fiscal drag", the fact that more and more people are dragged into higher income tax bands as the economy grows. In any case, the Chancellor needs to cut spending and raise tax revenues in order to close the budget gap and meet his fiscal rules. (BBC News -- Business)
A million more pay top tax rate Jan 23, 2007
Fiscal drag' draws in extra 3bn a year. Lecturers and nurses in high band. (TimesOnline)
