Friday 18 July 2008

Liberal Democrats and tax-cutting

Nick Clegg, introducing the party's new glossy, "Make it Happen", to the media, said that he was looking for ways to reduce the overall tax burden. This laudable aspiration was seized on by the media as an attempt to seize the Conservative ground.

The media commentators (who mostly have their own agenda, and would like nothing better than for the Liberal Democrats to disappear) either did not read the document or wilfully ignored it. There is nothing in it to comfort the wealthy. The main points are:
- to cut taxes for ordinary families
- to switch taxes from people to pollution - so it pays to go green
- to put Britain at the heart of Europe to make us a force for good in the world
- to stop ID cards so we can keep control of our privacy
- to change the voting system so everyone's voice counts
- to bring communities together with local people in charge
- give communities a say in how offenders pay for their crimes

The first two points make it obvious: lower-paid people will be taken out of tax; the people who pollute most, overwhelmingly those with higher disposable incomes, will pay more.

No comments: