Short-term political manoeuvres are preventing the fundamental reform the UK’s tax system desperately needs, according to a new report by the Fabian Society.
Short-term political manoeuvres are preventing the fundamental reform the UK’s tax system desperately needs, according to a new report by the Fabian Society. According to the report, Tax for our times (www.bit.ly/1Dpq1Qw), the tax system ‘remains far from progressive’, with council tax singled out as regressive and extensions in the personal allowance labelled as ‘misleading in their presentation as “lifting people out of tax”, given that most low earners continue to be liable for NICs, but they also disproportionately benefit higher earners’, with recent ONS figures showing the poorest 10% paying 45p in every pound of their income in tax, while the richest 10% pay 35p in every pound.
Andrew Harrop, general secretary of the Fabian Society, said: ‘Last month’s budget exemplified everything that is wrong with how the UK does tax policy. It was incremental, short-termist and so lacking in transparency that the chancellor refused even to admit that he was putting up taxes. The British left should champion a fresh alternative, based on clear principles and open decision-making. This is the only way to arrive at consistent answers to the big questions on tax, including whether to devolve tax raising powers, make more use of earmarked contributions or shift the balance of taxation from earnings to wealth. If Labour is serious about rebuilding economic credibility, it should start a grown-up conversation about “how” to tax, not “how much”.’
Short-term political manoeuvres are preventing the fundamental reform the UK’s tax system desperately needs, according to a new report by the Fabian Society.
Short-term political manoeuvres are preventing the fundamental reform the UK’s tax system desperately needs, according to a new report by the Fabian Society. According to the report, Tax for our times (www.bit.ly/1Dpq1Qw), the tax system ‘remains far from progressive’, with council tax singled out as regressive and extensions in the personal allowance labelled as ‘misleading in their presentation as “lifting people out of tax”, given that most low earners continue to be liable for NICs, but they also disproportionately benefit higher earners’, with recent ONS figures showing the poorest 10% paying 45p in every pound of their income in tax, while the richest 10% pay 35p in every pound.
Andrew Harrop, general secretary of the Fabian Society, said: ‘Last month’s budget exemplified everything that is wrong with how the UK does tax policy. It was incremental, short-termist and so lacking in transparency that the chancellor refused even to admit that he was putting up taxes. The British left should champion a fresh alternative, based on clear principles and open decision-making. This is the only way to arrive at consistent answers to the big questions on tax, including whether to devolve tax raising powers, make more use of earmarked contributions or shift the balance of taxation from earnings to wealth. If Labour is serious about rebuilding economic credibility, it should start a grown-up conversation about “how” to tax, not “how much”.’