Taxation and economic recovery

摘要

COVID-19, and the enforced idleness and numerous other business restrictions it engendered, have resulted in a both enormous levels of government debt (due to measures such as paying company employees who would otherwise have been laid off) and severe economic recession. In the UK, this specially incurred debt already amounts to more than 100 milliard (US billion) GBP;2 for comparison, UK gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 was about 2.2 billion (US trillion) GBP; it may fall by tens of percent in 2020. At a time when interest rates are close to zero or even negative—enabling the government to actually obtain an income from issuing bonds—this enormous special debt is less onerous than might at first appear. Nevertheless, it is felt that the special anti-COVID measures cannot be sustained indefinitely, and vigorous debate around the best way to get the economy back on track is now in progress. The main point of argument is whether to increase taxes—the usual way of bringing down government debt—or whether to stimulate economic growth by decreasing them.