Happy New Year!

If you're in the business of all things tax that is! Today is the first day of the new tax year and this time around there are a number of changes (to both tax and national insurance) which mean that the burden of taxation is shifted more to middle and top income earners. Of course, the fundamental basis of the UK tax system is that it is a progressive system i.e. the greater one's income, the greater the proportion of that income one will pay in tax. To put it another way, the marginal tax rate is greater than the average tax rate. This is potentially a disincentive to work as people are penalised as they move into higher tax brackets as they earn more or find themselves pulled into higher brackets through a process known as fiscal drag. Of course, there are alternatives; a regressive system would see the proportion of income tax paid as incomes rise FALL whilst a proportionate tax structure would see a flat rate of tax for all incomes. What would economists at King's advocate as a 'fair' system?