ABSTRACT
TOTAL GOVERNMENT expenditure in 2005-06 was expected to be £477 billion, or about £7,950 for every man, woman and child in the United Kingdom. Taxation and public spending touch everyone’s daily lives, from the amount of income tax we pay to the levels of social security and old age pensions we receive, and from standards in our local hospitals and schools to the quality of the environment and the number of police on the beat. It is not surprising, then, that the nation’s finances are always at the heart of political controversy. Are the economic prospects hopeful? Is the taxpayer getting good value for money? Should a project be financed through a public/private partnership? How much will it cost to issue everyone with an ID Card? Should we be spending more on schools? On the NHS? On the police? If we do, what will that do to taxation?
