In a unique investigation into the pathology of poverty, the author concludes that about 50,000 people in England and Wales alone die prematurely from causes that are ultimately traced to the way government raises the public’s revenue. Those people could live up to nine more years if they were not battered by the social and economic traumas that are caused by taxes that penalise wages and distort investment in the economy.

The hidden crisis confronting Britain and its National Health Service is exposed by methodically reviewing the historical evidence and scrutinising the theories that purport to explain the nature of deprivation.

While Government approaches the problem of health in terms of funding, Professor Miller explains that the heart of the challenge is to be found in the doctrines of public finance. Most taxes work to the detriment of the health and the wealth of the nation by burdening the economy unnecessarily.

Taxes reinforce the class structure. They institutionalise poverty. And they continue to disadvantage millions of people who would otherwise live longer and more prosperous lives, argues one of Britain’s leading medical scientists. Professor Miller calls upon government to investigate why the Welfare State has failed to reduce disparities in health and life expectancy between Britain’s richer and poorer. The tax reforms he outlines offer a realistic hope of attaining the most cherished goal of the public health movement – the equalisation of life expectancy for everyone in Britain.