A good starting point for a flat income tax (in the UK) would be to abolish 13,000 pages of tax breaks, reliefs, allowances etc. outlined in Tolley’s yellow book.

In return for forsaking those, the rate would come down, say to around 20%. It would apply on all earned income, but there would be the principle of FAIR taxation - namely that you can only be taxed once. Therefore all capital, dividend and inheritance taxes would go. Once shareholders pay corporation tax, that would be it. And to keep matters simple, corporation and personal income tax would be at the same rate.

Plus, to the benefit of all, the first £1,000 per month could be tax free - of both tax and national insurance. (Indeed the two would be merged into one.)

Now I can just hear all the cries from readers “how can this all be paid for??” Well, through economic growth. Plus what economists refer to as the “Laffer effect”.

Now one can argue subjectively about the amount of growth being caused by greater incentive to work, less tax avoidance, less investing off shore, more inward investment, better capital formation (no 100% tax breaks for financially useless investments such as films) etc. But the important point is simply to look at the shear SIZE of evidence to support that a flat tax would generate massive economic growth and… collected tax.