Thoughts on politics and life from a liberal perspective

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Lib Dem tax proposals - £10,000 could be a winner

I have written a piece this morning for Left Foot Forward which summarises the Lib Dem tax plans that were announced yesterday and also initial reaction from within the Lib Dems and outside.


One thing I didn't say in the piece is that putting aside the arguments of how it is paid for, I think the £10,000 starting threshold for income tax will turn out to be very popular as it is a concept that people can easily grasp and is clearly designed to benefit the least well off in the working population. I would not be at all surprised if this idea was "borrowed" in some form by Labour and perhaps even the Tories between now and the election...

3 comments:

Mark Wadsworth said...

I think the Lib Dems borrowed this one off UKIP, actually.

Simon Fawthrop said...

Its a good move. Only one minor quibble, it does raise the representation without taxation threshold. However I don' think there would be enough people at the bottom to cause any serious damage.

I hear Nick discussing this on the radio and have to say he didn't sound convinced. Has the liberal wing pushed this through against the wishes of statists would would wish to raise taxes at the top end and then use means testing?

Mark, didn't the ASI get there first? Maybe that's why Nick didn't sound convinced.

Anonymous said...

I am a Tory and have been proposing this for years. I especially like the idea that the super rich and non domiciles will pay pay some tax like the rest of us for a change. The only danger is that they will make the properties into 2 nominal flats to avoid the tax.
However if £200 is a bare minimum to live on as this move suggests then how can we justify the bone idle couple with "depression" who live next door to me getting their rent and council tax paid,free school meals,prescriptions,taxi fares, school uniform and trips paid for and £300 a week in benefits. These people are the real problem.