Brian Keegan: The Tax Take

Keeping an eye on the British government’s tax developments is shrewd

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne leaves 11 Downing Street with his treasury team (from left) Lord O'Neill, Damian Hinds, David Gauke, Chris Skidmore, Harriett Baldwin, Greg Hands and Conor Burns Pic: Getty

Why not oil the wheels?

In recent months, we have seen the demise of many traditional commercial totems. Money always used to cost money until banks began to charge each other rather than paying interest for placing money on deposit. And oil always costs money. Oil producers are always wealthy, aren’t they?

That was one of the more striking elements of British chancellor George Osborne’s budget speech last Wednesday. He had to introduce ...