Article in the Financial Times, the usual stuff, Britons have amassed an £180bn in their bank accounts, will they spend it or not.
True, Eumaeus has saved a bit of pocket money over the last year, and it is idling in the bank account. Thought experiment: the Government/Bank prints £1,000 for each person in the country to spend as they will, but on the condition that they repay the same sum tomorrow to HMRC. Will Britons spend the £1,000 or not? Tricky question.
Does it make any difference if HMRC collects the money at the end of the tax year? Will Britons spend the money or not? In general, if everyone expects that the value of extra helicopter money given to them will exactly offset the present value of extra tax payments at some point in the future, will Britons spend the money or not? Also a tricky question.