Policy Design Problems
Not every policy question is a number on a slider. These are real, unresolved design trade-offs — walked through honestly, with every option's pros and cons sourced, and no winner declared.
How do you tax land without hurting farmers?
A tax on land value is one of the most efficient taxes economists know — but agricultural land is the case that makes it genuinely hard. There is no single right answer here, only trade-offs. This page sets them out honestly, without picking a winner.
Explore the trade-offs →How should the UK tax people who've recently arrived from abroad?
The UK abolished 225-year-old "non-dom" status from April 2025. What should replace it was genuinely contested beforehand, and TPA's own 2022 reform proposal is a useful way to see the trade-off clearly, set against what the government actually did. No winner declared here.
Explore the trade-offs →This is a new, repeatable format — more design problems will be added over time. Suggestions welcome via the same channel as everything else on this site.