Mervyn King backs closing the tax gap

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From the Press Association:

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has surprised trade unions by describing the huge banking bailout as "unfair" and has appeared to sympathise with calls for multi-billion-pound tax evasion to be tackled.

Mervyn King tackling the tax gap?

Yes he did. The PCS President asked him whether he thought that the government should tackle the tax gap — yes, that’s the tax gap I calculated for them.

His answer was careful. He said tax was not in his remit as governor of the Central Bank. But he did say the data was “impressively presented” and the argument “sounds persuasive.”

I am far from alone in thinking this was a clear message of support for tackling this issue.

Michael Crick of Newsnight spoke to me afterwards (but I won’t be on). “Why is the tax gap the theme of this conference?” he asked me. “Did you coordinate it?”

No, I didn’t.

But as I wrote earlier today — the tax gap is a symbol of the insanity of cuts and the politics that is driving them.

It’s one of the narratives that will be heard time and again over the years before the ConDem government fails because even the Governor of the Bank of England sees the logic of it.


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