The final form of taxation to finance State spending is as yet undecided, pending a report from a commission. The scale and focus of State spending in the future is dependent on political decisions on the recommendations of a review group. In a crisis of public finances, key decisions especially on expenditure have been deferred on the occasions of two budgets. Is there a danger that the political responsibility for the decisions that have to be made, and the link between spending and tax, will be lost sight of?