LAST week I had the great pleasure of hosting my friend Dr Arthur Laffer in Parliament, welcoming him and colleagues for dinner and a roundtable discussion.

For those who do not know the name, Arthur Laffer is one of the most influential economists of the modern era.

He advised Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

When a man of his standing crosses the Atlantic to talk about our economy, it is worth listening carefully to what he has to say.

Arthur is best known for the idea that carries his name, the Laffer Curve. The thinking behind it is straightforward.

If you set tax rates too high, you can actually end up collecting less money, not more, because people are discouraged from working, saving and investing.

Push rates too far and you choke off the very activity that generates the revenue in the first place.

As Arthur put it during his visit, an economy has never been taxed into prosperity.

I share his concern about the direction we are travelling. The tax burden in this country is now heading towards 36.3 per cent of our national income, the highest level since the late 1940s.

That is a remarkable figure. It means the state is taking a larger share of what we earn than at almost any point in living memory.

Behind that statistic sit families in Central Devon working hard and wondering why so little seems to stay in their pockets.

The picture in the jobs market gives further cause for worry. Around 9.1 million people of working age are now economically inactive, which is more than one in five adults aged 16 to 64.

Youth unemployment has climbed to 16.4 per cent, its highest for 11 years, meaning roughly one in six young people looking for work cannot find it.

Arthur made a simple point that has stayed with me. If you tax people who work and over support those who do not, you should not be surprised to find more people out of work.

None of this is inevitable. A competitive tax system, sensible spending and a lighter regulatory touch can encourage enterprise, reward effort and get people back into employment.

Lower, simpler taxes are not an end in themselves. They are the means by which we grow the economy, create jobs and improve living standards for everyone.

Conversations like the one I hosted with Arthur matter because they remind us that the choices we make on tax shape the opportunities available to our children and grandchildren.

I will keep making the case for an economy that rewards hard work here in Devon and right across the country.

Facebook: Mel Stride MP X: @MelJStride Instagram: @melstridemp Website: www.melstridemp.com