Tomorrow's Budget

Not that he will take the slightest bit of notice but as everyone else seems bent on giving him advice on what he should put in his budget I am going to give Osborne the benefit of my thoughts too. First of all Osborne should look at the economic history of Hong Kong from which he will learn that its rise to become an economic tiger relied almost entirely on small and medium size businesses employing less than 100 people. There was little regulation of these enterprises and no government industrial planning although the Hong Kong government did spend on considerably on social housing. Taxes were low, employment laws minimal and there were no restrictions on trade. It is true that there was also no government debt. We have a heavily indebted government which we are trying to bring under control. To help do so Osborne should now concentrate on doing the same things as were done in Honk Kong. He must go for low taxes, loosen employment laws for enterprises with less than 100 employees, remove barriers to trade and encourage home building. Although it may not be practicable to leave the common agricultural and fisheries policies and any other organisation which restricts free trade we should at least urgently examine what can be done. We can though ensure that both our employment and planning laws are changed to give flexibility and thus to reduce costs. As to taxation even if politically he feels he cannot reduce the headline rates he should at least announce when he is going to reduce them.