Tax policy in the real world: in conversation with former chancellors

Watch the event

Listen to the event

Tax touches on almost every area of our lives. It is vital for raising revenues to pay for public services and benefits. Incentives in the tax system also influence behaviour – sometimes deliberately, sometimes as a result of poor policy design, other times as an unavoidable side effect.

As the threat of Covid wanes and as the UK establishes its economic direction outside the EU, the government will face important questions about the future of the tax system – including how to ensure it raises the necessary revenues as well as providing the right incentives. But tax is a particularly contentious area of policy where many previous governments have struggled to make progress.

This event brought together former chancellors to discuss their experiences of tax policy making, the problems they faced and how they made progress.

Our panel

• The Rt Hon. the Lord Lamont of Lerwick, former Chancellor of the Exchequer (1990–93)
• The Rt Hon. the Lord Darling of Roulanish, former Chancellor of the Exchequer (2007–10)
• The Rt Hon. George Osborne CH, former Chancellor of the Exchequer (2010–16)

The event was chaired by Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government, with an introduction by Matt Ellis, Managing Partner for Tax at Deloitte UK.

This event was kindly supported by Deloitte LLP.