{
  "id": 15700510,
  "title": "Andrew Griffith: a Conservative government would make taxes lower, simpler and fairer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/andrew-griffith-a-conservative-government-would-make-taxes-lower",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-20T04:43:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/andrew-griffith-a-conservative-government-would-make-taxes-lower-simpler-and-fairer/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Andrew Griffith, the shadow Chancellor, has stated that a Conservative government would make taxes lower, simpler, and fairer. According to the Tax Foundation’s annual International Tax Competitiveness Index, Britain ranks 30th out of 38 OECD countries, indicating that the country has fallen behind in terms of tax competitiveness. The index reveals that our tax system ranks poorly in every single category, with the exception of cross-border tax rules, which are a result of having more favorable tax treaties. Griffith highlighted issues such as high marginal rates, complex VAT rules, and a heavy burden of property tax due to stamp duty and business rates. He proposed solutions like scrapping stamp duty on primary residences, abolishing business rates for thousands on the high street, and ending the childcare cliff-edge that can leave families thousands of pounds worse off if they earn just £1 over £100,000. Griffith emphasized that lowering taxes should be a top priority for the Conservative economic plan, and he pledged to make tax simplification a mission for every Treasury minister.",
  "summary": "The Tax Foundation’s annual International Tax Competitiveness Index, published this week, shows just how far behind we have fallen. Out of 38 OECD countries, Britain ranks just 30th. That’s not good enough, says Andrew Griffith Two weeks ago, I told the Conservative Party Conference that lower, simpler, and fairer taxes would be my personal “North [...]",
  "key_points": [
    "Conservative government would lower, simplify, and make taxes fairer",
    "Britain ranks 30th out of 38 OECD countries in tax competitiveness",
    "Griffith proposes scrapping stamp duty, abolishing business rates"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}