Hopes discarded rr his, then, is the year of hopes
deferred, 1 and — what seems odder — of hopes discarded, of options disclaimed. So the Chancellor, putting Value Added Tax onto newspaper advertising, undertook that VAT would extend no further in the lifetime of this Parliament. Why? Is it just that he cannot bear the idea of any more delegations from publishers? Has he un- happy memories of the fish-and-chip lobby last year? A firm frontier for VAT, however illogically drawn, has the virtue of clarity and certainty. There are also virtues in an expenditure tax, and the broader and more equitable its base, the greater the virtues. Now it has been put aside, as an idea, or even as a bargaining card in the Treasury's hand. Of Capital Gains Tax, the Chancellor said: 'I believe it is now on a broadly acceptable and sustainable basis' — meaning: here you are, chaps, but that's your lot. The tax will now make full allowance for inflation, with effect from 1982, which was the year when the great inflation was put behind us. I guess that it still leaves David Sainsbury with a contin- gent tax liability nearing £80 million, on his shareholding in the family business. He and other long-term holders of assets will not rush to the exits. That is a relief for the stock markets, but it implies that one obstacle to the natural flow of money is still in place.
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