Pitt’s rule for non-doms is only one tax that belongs in the dustbin of history

As Labour and Tories argue over repealing legislation passed in 1799, other outdated forms of taxation need to be made clear, simple and fair

George Osborne, the arch-tactician, surely has at least one pre-election lollipop up his sleeve for Tuesday's Tory manifesto launch; but so far in the general election campaign, Labour have made the running on tax.

When Ed Miliband announced his party's pledge to abolish non-domiciled tax statutes, the Conservatives - unsure whether to attack Labour for destroying a useful quirk of the UK tax system, or condemn the policy as half-hearted "tinkering around the edges" - became bogged down in arguments about how much revenue abolition would raise.