Wednesday webinar at one: Corporation Tax and the UK Economy
Wednesday 15 April 2026 | 13:00 - 13:50 | Webinar
Could cutting corporation tax be the only practical route to accelerating economic growth? Across advanced economies, including France, Japan, the UK and the US,government interest payments on national debt are rising faster than GDP. Reducing fiscal deficits through conventional austerity would risk triggering a deep recession, even in a falling interest rate environment.
A shift in the tax burden from investmentsuppressing corporation tax to consumption taxes could create room for fiscal consolidation without recession by stimulating investment, supporting demand, and raising long-term sustainable growth.
This session will examine why cutting corporation tax may be the only viable route to reinvigorating growth—and why this policy debate is urgently needed. Attendees will gain a clear, practical framework for understanding the economic mechanisms at play and the consequences of inaction.
This discussion will be based on research from economic author, Andrew Smithers, Addressing Fiscal and Trade Deficits by Andrew Smithers American Affairs Vol IX No 3. (https://smithers.co.uk/category/news/).
Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:
- Understand why the prevailing consensus economic model is contradicted by empirical data.
- Explore how adherence to this model increases the likelihood of another financial crisis.
- Define how revisiting corporation tax policy can help mitigate these risks and support sustainable growth.
This webinar is ideal for:
- Economists, strategists and policymakers interested in evidence-based approaches to tax policy and macroeconomic reform.
- Portfolio managers and analysts who need to understand the longt-erm implications of tax structures on investment, productivity and market performance.
- Anyone involved in financial planning or risk oversight who wants to assess the potential impact of future fiscal and economic shifts.
To provide helpful context ahead of the session, we are pleased to share a short pre‑read: “Japan and the World’s Economic Problem” by Andrew.
Timings
Registration: 12:55
Event: 13:00 - 13:50
Click here to view our event terms and conditions.
Speaker
Andrew Smithers, Author & Columnist
Andrew received an MA in economics from Cambridge University, having been at Clare College 1956-1959, where his supervisor and director of studies was Professor Brian Reddaway. Andrew was born in 1937 and attended Winchester College 1951-1955.
Andrew founded Smithers & Co in 1989. Before that he ran S G Warburg's successful asset management business for many years (now part of BlackRock). A regular financial commentator and columnist, and author of many academic publications, he co-authored Valuing Wall Street with Stephen Wright (March 2000). He wrote Wall Street Revalued: Imperfect Markets and Inept Central Bankers (July 2009), and Can We Identify Bubbles and Stabilize the System? in The Future of Finance, published by the LSE in September, 2010, The Road to Recovery: How and Why Economic Policy Must Change (September 2013), Productivity and the Bonus Culture (July 2019) and The Economics of the Stock Market which was published by Oxford University Press in March 2022.
Andrew seeks urgent change to accepted economic theory as the policy on which it is based is the cause of regular financial crises and bouts of rapid inflation. He is currently working on a book with the working title Managing an Economy with Multiple Sources of Disequilibria which he hopes will be published soon.