Would new taxes on alcohol and pop make you drink less?

Eamonn argues that a low tax won't change people's behaviour and that any money raised on the 20p tax on fizzy drinks would be spent on the bureaucracy to bring it in. 

You can here the discussion on BBC Radio Wales here. (from 15.37mins in). 

Summary

Dr Eamonn Butler is a guest on BBC Radio Wales discussing the negative impact of minimum alcohol pricing and a 20p per litre sugary drinks tax. 

Eamonn on BBC Breakfast TV on a fizzy drinks tax

Summary

Dr Eamonn Butler argues on BBC Breakfast TV that a 20p tax per litre on fizzy drinks would  be a terrible idea. Government should not micromanage our lives and people do not want more taxes introduced. The tax would just lead to more bureaucracy and hit poor families hardest.

Does business have a responsibility beyond making a profit?

Summary

Sam Bowman goes on BBC World Service's 'In the Balance' and discuss corporate social responsibility and whether businesses should feel obliged to give back to society. He argues that a business's first priority should be its shareholders and CSR may come at the cost of business profit and the returns to shareholders. He also discusses tax avoidance and other topical issues on this 30min programme.

You can listen to the full discussion here. 

Response to GDP figures

In response to today’s GDP figures, Sam Bowman, Research Director at the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“We shouldn’t be too surprised by these GDP figures. Since GDP figures include government spending, cuts to spending will depress the headline rate even if the private sector is doing quite well.
 
“What we are experiencing is a rebalancing of the economy. In 2012, nearly a million private sector jobs were created, a very positive development. The state is cutting its workforce, freeing up more labour for private sector productivity.
 
“However, the government is not doing enough to promote the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). EU regulation costs British business £100bn a year, and our taxes on business are killing jobs. Scrapping Employers’ National Insurance contributions for SMEs could create over 500,000 new private sector jobs.
 
“The government is right to cut state spending and employment, but it needs to promote stronger private sector growth to pick up more of the slack. Targeted tax cuts and deregulation designed to boost private sector job creation are just what the doctor ordered.”

Get the government out of the marriage business

People in same-sex relationships have, rightly, fought for equality before the law. But they have ignored the bigger question – why the state should have anything to do with consenting adults' relationships at all. We have privatised industries and services with excellent results: now, why don't we privatise marriage?

Marriage has not traditionally been a preserve of the state, only entering the statute books in England in the Marriage Act of 1753. According to historian and author of ‘Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage’, Stephanie Coontz, it was only in the 16th Century that European governments began to require marriages to be performed under legal auspices at all, marriage is a public contract between consenting adults. Most of what is in modern marriage could be agreed upon privately by consenting adults: property rights (over inheritance, for example), parental responsibilities, duties of care, next of kin nomination, and so on. Other rights, such as residency sponsorship for non-citizens, should not be restricted to married couples at all...

You can read the full article on PoliticsHome here.

Summary

Sam Bowman writes on PoliticsHome that in the debate over gay marriage, both sides have missed the point. The government should privatise marriage, making the whole gay marriage debate redundant.