William Hopper (politician) - Institute For Fiscal Studies

Institute For Fiscal Studies

Hopper had discussed with three friends, all of whom were professional finance employees, the way in which Capital Gains Tax had been introduced in 1965, which all concerned thought had been disastrous. Over dinner in July 1968 the friends decided that what was needed was a non-partisan Institute which would research such proposals and report on them to the political world and the wider public; the Institute for Fiscal Studies was formally launched on 21 May 1969 with Hopper as founder Chairman. The Institute also had undeclared objectives of improving procedures for changing taxation, and making taxation more rational. While at Hill Samuel, he became involved in examining the possibility of the Common Market developing a Common Capital Market which might include the United Kingdom; he knew this would transform the operation of the London capital markets. In 1975, Hopper left Hill Samuel to become a director of Morgan Grenfell. He was awarded the 'Deal of the Year' by Institutional Investor magazine in 1976 for his handling of a bond issue for the European Investment Bank.