Adam Smith Institute

The public forest estate no longer serves a public purpose. It occupies 10% of the area of Great Britain and over 15% of the rural area of mainland Scotland. All of this is outside local control. Over the last eighty years the national forest policy has been a complete failure and the Forestry Commission is to blame. There has been no return on investment, no commercial value and worst has failed to deliver on any of its objectives. The authors claim that the public forest estate should be freed from government constraints and protection. The woodlands should be returned gratis to the residents of the communities of which they could then become part.

Miles Saltiel is an investment banker with experience of the privatizations of Eastern Europe. Allan Stewart MP is a former Minister of State at the Scottish Office.

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Excise Duty and Value Added Tax account for nearly 2/3 of the price of spirits, vodka, whiskey, and gin, sold in the UK. This excessive tax rate penalises domestic production, encourages consumption of nearly all imported goods, costs jobs in the domestic drinks industry, and encourages bootleg and smuggled alcohol consumption. The UK can solve this problem by cutting excise duties gradually over five years to reach equivalency with EU duties, harmonizing UK and EU duties and signaling the goal of tax neutrality between alcoholic drinks.

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In a report that speaks volumes in relation to minimum wage laws in the UK, the authors show that unemployment rises each time minimum wages are raised; selectively higher in the very groups the rises are supposed to benefit. It's findings cannot be ignored.

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Keith Boyfield argues "The Case for Lower Excise Duties on Alcohol & Tobacco."

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Ordinary people pay more IHT than the rich. The UK rate is far above the EU average, hitting much smaller estates. The tax is a powerful disincentive on saving, kills family businesses, is costly to collect, and destroys far more than it yields. If it did not exist, no rational person would propose it.

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Individuals should be able to opt out of the state welfare system into an individual, funded and privately managed 'Fortune Account' which will provide lifetime insurance and basic pension benefits. This will allow people to accumulate savings when young, fit and in work, in order to fund their needs in retirement or when unemployed, sick, or disabled.

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UK Capital taxes are the world's most complex, putting us at a disadvantage against EC partners. On UK and US figures, the author shows that the revenue-maximizing level for CGT is only 15% and argues for a cut to below 10%.

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Classic and essential texts from Locke, Smith, Bastiat, Burke, Mill, Hume, Hayek, Mises, and others on the fundamental tennents of liberal thought such as Freedom, Compeition, and Tolerance.

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Britain's ace quango-hunter stalks his costly quarry once again. He reviews the history and growth of quangos and the departments with the worst record in harbouring them. Then he proposes sunset legislation by which quangos would face automatic extinction after a few years, and ne disclosure rules for the quangurus. Despite being written over 10 years ago it's still relevant to the debate on quangos today. Especially in light of the governments over reliance on them and the ceaseless expansion of both their numbers and their size.

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20–20 Vision sets out a clear and coherent set of goals, and constitutes a radical agenda for innovation and reform. Written in 1994 it puts forth one hundred indicative targets that are viable for Britain to achieve over the next 25 years. It covers a wide range of subjects that cover the fabric of British society. Examples of the targets are: nursery education for three and four year–olds; top rate of tax of 20% and a basic rate of 10%; trains will link cities at speeds in excess of 200mph; the "tagging" of persistent offenders; renovation of housing stock making them energy sufficient and noise insulated; zero pollution for city transport and industry; the whole population to be in Health Maintenance Organizations; the NHS more doctor–based and more local; more private provision replacing state benefits. This report draws on the work of more than 25 contributors. The emphasis throughout is on private funding, voluntary effort and free enterprise, rather than on public money.

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