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27 January 2012

'Don't meddle with council tax freeze', Pickles warns FDsEric Pickles has warned local government finance officers that they risk getting involved in politics if they recommend a council tax rise in their areas.

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Features & interviews

Beyond the meltdownThe current financial crisis is just the start of the problems facing Western economies. 'Normal' levels of GDP growth might never return, as a result of climate change, an ageing population, depleted national resources and competition from Asia

Tax and mendWhen the financial crisis began, governments focused on cutting spending to reduce their debts. Now attention is turning to the other side of the coin raising revenue. Tax collection is the new mantra

Out of the shadowsCouncils are detecting much more fraud but there's still plenty of places to hide, warns the Audit Commission's chair. Criminals are finding new ways of plundering public money

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Opinion

Instant analysis from expert bloggers and highlights from Public Finance

Battling it out on welfare
Claudia Wood
Who really gets subsidised housing?
John Perry
Clegg takes wrong turn on tax
Ian Mulheirn
Data overload
Conor Ryan

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EDITOR'S CHOICE

Photo: PA

End of the Union? Whatever options are included in the 2014 independence referendum, the Union as we know it is unlikely to survive, says Iain Macwhirter

Comments

Your latest comments from the PF blog

Comment on Turning the tables by Howard Clark
Or as John (above comment) suggests, tweak the tables and wait another 5 years. Here's some food for thought from 2 things I read this week. You...
Comment on End of the Union? by Barry (The Elder)
The only place where there is little enthusiasm for an English Parliament is within the mindsets of the "Little Britishers" who dwell in British...

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Autumn statement

Families with children will bear brunt of benefit cuts, says IFSPlanned changes to the tax and benefit system will hit the incomes of families with children hardest and increase child poverty, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Pension funds won't invest 'just to dig government out of a hole'A senior local authority figure has warned ministers that plans for pension funds to invest in national infrastructure developments will not be approved 'just to dig the government out of a hole'.