VAT should be cut even further
In 1990, tens of thousands of angry Britons protested against the Poll Tax. Their objection was simple: it is wrong to levy a flat tax on all individuals regardless of income. That a worker barely scraping together £10,000 a year should pay the same contribution as a millionaire was so manifestly wrong that men and women took to the streets – and in some cases, rioted – to voice their discontent.
Yet the Thatcher government which proposed the Poll Tax also oversaw drastic increases in another tax, one which is arguably as regressive as the Poll Tax: the Value Added Tax (VAT). The Tories knew when they increased VAT rates that it affects the poor more than the rich, deliberately employing it as an alternative to progressive taxation.
Labour’s record on VAT thus looks – compared to its record on many other things – comparatively good. The decision to reinstate a reduced rate of 5% in 2001 was arguably an act of progressive taxation. The decision to cut the standard rate last December was also a progressive move – whatever Labour’s motives for the cut.
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Tamil protests in Westminster: pictures & video
Demonstrations by ethnic Tamils outside of the Houses of Parliament have this morning grown considerably in size and energy, with protesters bringing traffic to a stand-still in the Parliament Square area.
Whilst it is hard to estimate numbers, from the upper offices in Parliament Street it would appear that 1,500-2,000 protestors have convened this morning. The protesters are demonstrating against continued non-action by the UK regarding alleged human rights abuses of ethnic Tamils by the Sri Lankan authorities. The size of this morning’s protest contrasts sharply with the numbers of protesters present last week, which consistently numbered somewhere in the low hundreds.
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These bankers just don’t get it
Wednesday morning I attended the Liberal Democrat treasury team meeting in my capacity as a parliamentary researcher. Paying a visit were some representatives from the banking sector, who were there to give high-profile members of the Liberal Democrats – the party currently at the forefront of attempts to close down tax havens, or secrecy jurisdictions as they are better termed – a bank’s eye view.
In the course of discussions, the issue of Tesco avoiding/evading £billions in stamp duty arose.
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Tories still cling on to Inheritence Tax
In a resigned, disillusioned sort of way it was amusing to listen to top Tories yesterday attempt to cover-up the fact that Ken Clarke broke the official party line. You see, Clarke admitted that when the Conservatives come to power they won’t be able to afford cuts on inheritance tax.
Aside from the brief amusement of watching the Tories try not to squabble and denounce each other in public, it is depressing that the Government-in-waiting thinks that inheritance tax should essentially be scrapped. As I have argued previously on my blog, a foundation-stone of fair society with proper equality of opportunity and anything like social justice is progressive taxation of the rich.
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