Challenge the Chancellor 2010 - Level 3 Competition Tasks

Here are details of the tasks required of teams entering the Level 3 (e.g. AS/A2, IB, Higher) version of Challenge the Chancellor 2010:

What you have to do
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In the run up to the publication of the Chancellor’s annual Budget, usually delivered in March,, the newspapers are full of ideas as to what the Chancellor ought to be doing about taxes. The tax measures in the Budget are fundamentally about raising revenue for the Government to fund its spending – and the 2010 Budget may well have a good deal to say about tax rises or reduced spending as Government finances are showing a significant deficit.

But the Chancellor will usually make a number of changes intended to do things such as helping business (sometimes targeted at particular sectors), alleviating poverty, redistributing wealth, improving our environment, simplifying the existing rules and preventing the avoiding or evasion of taxes.

Think of a new tax policy which you would like the Chancellor to include in the Budget.

You will need maximum publicity to convince the Chancellor to take notice, so…

Write a piece suitable for publication in the newspapers explaining and defending your new tax policy

Guidelines on creating your entry:
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- Maximum length 900 words, including at least one image. (Please use only copyright-fre static jpeg or gif images; animations and Flash movies are not permitted.)
- Description and analysis of your policy:

What is it?
In principle, how will the tax be calculated?
Who will pay it?
What benefits should the tax bring about? Is it just about raising money or will it help in other ways?
Why is this a good way for the government to collect tax revenue?

Be careful not to suggest something that is really a fine rather than a tax.

Produced using Microsoft Word (saved as either a Doc or DOCX file)

Black and white - no extra marks for colour.

On a separate page, list the sources you have used. Give full Web addresses.

What the judges will be looking for:

- Originality of your policy and depth and quality of your reasoning.
- Journalistic flair - is it easily understandable, persuasive, succinct?
- How good are you at word processing and creating and importing graphics/images?
- Evidence of research in formulating your policy - have you read the newspapers, visited important Web sites and consulted any other relevant sources?

Handy Hints:

Newspapers, Journals and Magazines:

The quality newspapers are a valuable source of help, e.g. the Financial Times, the Guardian, the Independent, the Telegraph, the Times. Following the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report (due 9 December 2009) there will be articles and features in these papers. The Pre-Budget Report often contains more tax policy issues than the Budget itself. You can also find more in-depth coverage via the HM Treasury Web site. There is a link to the Pre-Budget Report on the home page. In the run-up to the Budget itself you will find plenty of articles in newspapers and on the Web.