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ECONOMICS-FOCUS


The budget deficit is down significantly this year and should come in below official projections despite global economic worries, David Smith writes.

Tax receipts have underperformed in recent years. If that changes, the public finances will start to look healthier. There is tentative evidence of such a change, as David Smith reports.

The economy has come good in time for the election, in a way the coalition could hardly have dreamed of. The question is whether it will be enough to prevent a lurch into political instability, as David Smith reports.

George Osborne’s March Budget could be his last. To prevent it being so, the chancellor has to ensure that it gives the Conservatives a political lift, as David Smith reports.

A bumper self-assessment season is needed to put the public finances back on track, as David Smith reports

The election is the big event this year, and the outcome is unpredictable. Arguments about tax will feature heavily in the campaign, as David Smith reports

George Osborne’s Autumn Statement contained good and bad news on the deficit but the underlying message is that the public finances are still a long way from being fixed, David Smith reports

The forthcoming Scottish referendum will be fought on many issues but taxation, and in particular North Sea taxation, is one of the most important, as David Smith reports

Interest rates are not going up just yet, but the Bank of England is preparing the ground for the first move in many years, as David Smith reports

The cut in the top rate of income tax from 50% to 45% set up a tax avoidance opportunity. The numbers suggest plenty took advantage of it, David Smith reports

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