Dr Andy Summers

My research focuses on the evaluation and design of tax policies, particularly those affecting top earners and High Net Wealth Individuals (HNWIs). I combine technical expertise in tax law with quantitative methods and data science, via collaborations with economists and other social scientists. I am Director of the Centre for Analysis of Taxation (CenTax), a research centre dedicated to improving public understanding of tax and helping to design a better tax system, through research that is academically rigorous and relevant to policymakers and the public.

I convene two masters-level courses on taxation. LL4CG Tax Policy and Design is an introduction to the evaluation and design of tax policies using a variety of disciplinary perspectives including economics, philosophy, and political science, as well as law. LL4CO Taxation of Wealth examines how the UK taxes wealth (and the wealthy) and evaluates options for reform of existing capital taxes. I also teach an undergraduate course on LL293 Tax and Tax Avoidance.

Before joining LSE in 2014, I studied Law as an undergraduate at Cambridge (2005-08) and as a postgraduate at Oxford (2009-10). I completed my doctorate at Corpus Christi College Oxford, where I also taught as a College Lecturer (2011-14). My PhD research focused on the assessment of damages in private law, and theories of loss and causation. In 2016, I got married and took my wife’s name (…we flipped a coin). Consequently, my publications prior to 2016 are listed under my previous name, Andrew Dyson.

Affiliations

Director, Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax)

LSE International Inequalities Institute, Faculty Associate

Institute for Fiscal Studies, Research Associate

Tax Law Review Committee, Committee Member

UK Wealth Tax Commission, Commissioner

Administrative support: Law.Reception@lse.ac.uk

Current Working Papers

• ‘Taxation and migration by the super-rich’ (with Arun Advani & David Burgherr)
• ‘Catch me if you can: Gaps in the Register of Overseas Entities’ (with Arun Advani, Cesar Poux and Anna Powell-Smith)
• ‘The UK’s Global Economic Elite: A sociological analysis using tax data’ (with Arun Advani, David Burgherr & Mike Savage)
• ‘Capital Gains and UK Inequality’ (with Arun Advani)

Policy Papers

• ‘Ten Key Facts about Carried Interest’(2024) CenTax Policy Report, October 2024 (with Arun Advani, Sebastian Gazmuri-Barker & Sanaya Mahajan)
• ‘Reforming the Taxation of Carried Interest: Revenue Modelling’(2024) CenTax Policy Report, October 2024 (with Arun Advani, Sebastian Gazmuri-Barker, Sanaya Mahajan & Cesar Poux) (2024)
• ‘Inheritance Tax reliefs: time for reform?’(2024) CenTax Policy Report, October 2024 (with Arun Advani, Franziska Disslbacher & James Forrester)
• ‘Reforming Capital Gains Tax: Revenue and Distributional Effects’(2024) CenTax Policy Report, October 2024 (with Arun Advani & Andrew Lonsdale)
• ‘The productivity cost of low Capital Gains Tax rates’(2024) CenTax Policy Brief, October 2024 (with Arun Advani, Helen Hughson, Johnathan Inkley & Andrew Lonsdale)
• ‘Business owners who emigrate: Evidence from Companies House records’(2024) CenTax Policy Brief, October 2024 (with Arun Advani & Cesar Poux)
• ‘Capital Gains Tax Reform’(2024) IFS Green Budget 2024, Chapter 7 (with Stuart Adam, Arun Advani & Helen Miller)
• ‘Who would be affected by Capital Gains Tax reform?’ (2024) CAGE Policy Briefing 40 (with Arun Advani & Andrew Lonsdale)
• Wealth tax: the debate continues(2023) Tax Journal, 7 June 2023 (with Arun Advani & Emma Chamberlain)
• Reforming the non-dom regime: revenue estimates(2022) CAGE Policy Briefing 38 (with Arun Advani & David Burgherr)
• ‘Who are the super-rich? The wealth and connections of the Sunday Times Rich List’ (2022) CAGE Policy Briefing 37 (with Arun Advani & Hannah Tarrant)
• ‘Fixing the gaps in National Insurance: A better way to fund social care’ (2021) CAGE Policy Briefing 33 (with Arun Advani, Helen Hughson & Hannah Tarrant)
• ‘A wealth tax for the UK’ (2020) Final Report of the Wealth Tax Commission (with Arun Advani & Emma Chamberlain)
• ‘Is it time for a UK Wealth Tax?’ (2020) Initial Report of the Wealth Tax Commission (with Arun Advani & Emma Chamberlain)
• ‘Capital Gains and UK Inequality: New evidence from tax microdata’ (2020) CAGE Policy Briefing 19 (with Arun Advani)
• ‘Who Gains? The importance of accounting for capital gains’ (2020) Resolution Foundation (with Arun Advani & Adam Corlett)

LL4CG Tax Policy and Design (postgraduate)

LL4CO Taxation of Wealth (postgraduate)

LL293 Tax and Tax Avoidance (undergraduate)

LL438E Commercial Remedies (executive masters)

LL4COE Taxation of Wealth (executive masters)

LL110 Tax, Justice and the Economy(summer school)

Media Coverage

Catch Me if You Can: Gaps in the Register of Overseas Entities– BBC Radio 4, The Times, Guardian, Property Week. Authored op-ed in the Guardian. Blogged at LSE British Politics and Policy

Reforming the Non-Dom Regime: Revenue Estimates – FT, Guardian, Independent, FT Adviser. Authored op-ed in the New Statesman.

How much tax do the rich really pay? New evidence from tax microdata – FT, Independent, Times, Guardian, FT(op-ed), Guardian(op-ed).

Final Report of the Wealth Tax Commission – BBCNews, SkyNews, ITV News, Telegraph, Guardian, FT, The Times, City AM, Bloomberg, Guardian(op-ed), FT(op-ed), The Times(op-ed), City AM(op-ed), Bloomberg(op-ed). Blog at LSE Business Review.

Capital Gains and UK Inequality – Independent, Guardian, Mirror, Evening Standard, FT, The Times(op-ed), Guardian(op-ed), Independent(op-ed). Blog at LSE Business Review.

Importing Inequality: Immigration and the top 1 percent – FT, Guardian, Forbes, The Times(op-ed). Blog at VoxEU.