A value of independence is the ability to be independent

Whether or not the whole idea is worthwhile or not is up to the individual estimation of the balance. Views here about Brexit have varied as they have across the country. But there is an obvious point to be made, which is that independence does allow independent action. As the budget has pointed out:

The government will abolish the 20% “reading tax” on ebooks and online newspapers from December, although it is unclear whether publishers will pass the full saving on to customers.

Printed books and newspapers have always been zero-rated for VAT but until now their digital equivalents – such as books from Amazon’s Kindle service or online subscriptions to news websites such as the Times or the Guardian – have been subject to the sales tax.

It was the EU that insisted that digital versions must carry the tax, not being in the EU allows its removal. So too with this other announcement:

The chancellor confirmed in his budget that the government is to scrap the controversial tampon tax and abolish VAT on all women’s sanitary products from 2021.

Tampons and other women’s sanitary products currently attract 5% VAT. This will be dropped when the transition period for Britain departure from the EU ends on 31 December.

The decision marks a victory in the 20-year campaign by women’s groups against 50-year-old VAT rules that once categorised tampons as “non-essential, luxury items”.

Again, it was the EU that insisted the tax must remain - Gordon Brown even tried to gain permission to remove it and was told that he couldn’t.

We’d not claim that either of these are important in the macroeconomic sense, however much complaining either and both have led to. But it is nice to see that that independence does actually allow independent action, no?

We’ll also go on to predict an outbreak of cakeism. George Osborne tried to deflect the anger over the tampon tax by diverting the amount raised to a fund to “benefit women”. This was to be just a temporary measure while the work to convince the EU to allow the lifting of the tax bore fruit. Which, in these modern times, means funding those vocally active groups who claim they are representing women. Given the tax removal this fund, those grants, should obviously cease existence. There will be an awful lot of shouting about how executing that funding stream is proof that the government hates women. We can actually hear the sound of the indignant press releases being typed already.

For as Milton Friedman pointed out, there’s nothing so permanent as a temporary government program.