Most powerful people in the world

So it may need another government before a tax on property sits alongside income tax, national insurance and VAT as the main revenue earners. Not stamp duty, which only taxes transactions and hinders the movement of young workers around the country while inflating estate agents’ commissions, but an annual tax on property with the promise that those in work get to keep more of their wages. … [Read more...] about Stop ripping off the young. It’s time for older people to pay their fair share

As Pope Francis correctly noted in a speech at the Vatican in 2013: “We have created new idols. The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.” He continued: “Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalised: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.” … [Read more...] about Let’s wrench power back from the billionaires

Query over Cummings role in defence review – MPs are demanding Downing Street clarify Dominic Cummings’ role in the defence and foreign policy review, which is designed to set national security priorities for the next five years. Before taking up his job at Downing Street, Cummings accused the ministry of defence in a blogpost of “continuing to squander billions” on two aircraft carriers, arguing it would be better to invest in swarms of tiny drones. The review has been beset by accusations that it is being driven by Cummings, who has been granted a personal tour of sensitive sites including the SAS headquarters and Porton Down research labs. … [Read more...] about Thursday briefing: Far from a level playing field, say teachers

Belarus’s investigative committee confirmed the death in a press release and claimed that he had been arrested for taking part in the protests. His mother denied that he was a protester and said he had gone to visit a girlfriend on Sunday when he was detained. … [Read more...] about Belarus protests: 25-year-old man dies in police custody

The ICIJ's exploration of offshore secrets began when a computer hard drive packed with corporate data arrived in the post. Gerard Ryle, ICIJ's director, obtained the small black box as a result of his three-year investigation of Australia's Firepower scandal, a case involving offshore havens and corporate fraud. … [Read more...] about Offshore secrets: unravelling a complex package of data