Nick Clegg is wanting to speed up changes to the tax system. He has said that he wants to ”rewire and rebalance the tax system” to make it work for those who “play by the rules”.
In a speech to the Resolution Foundation today, he is expected to say that gradually raising the threshold is not enough for families who are facing a “state of emergency”.
He must feel like the people’s champion when he makes these announcements, but this has got to be nothing more than a PR story for the Lib Dems.
When you look at what the actual real benefits of raising the personal allowance on income tax would be, you see that it would equate to about £7 a week for basic rate tax payers.
Now compare this to what they are taking away:
- Public sector pay freezes
- Increase in pension contributions
- Reducing the rates for Local Housing Allowance
- Changes in child benefit
Then you have to take into account that the British economy shrank be 0.2% in the last quarter of 2011, that food and fuel prices are constantly increasing and that this only applies if you are one of the lucky ones who has managed to stay in employment.
£7 doesn’t sound that much anymore, does it?
Instead, Clegg, encourage Mr Osbourne to develop some growth policies. Yes, we cannot avoid cutting, but if all you do is cut, you kill. Small gestures will not help Britain to recover. Why don’t you go and tell Cameron to do what he is preaching to the EU today at home?
About John Baxter
I am a law student who takes an interest in how laws are decided upon. I spend the majority of my spare time kicking a*** on Call of Duty or reading.
