Lib Dems on Tax

Yesterday the Lib Dems published our plans on taxation for the 2010 General Election. The introduction of a levy on £2m homes, changes to the taxes on avaition, high value pensions tax relief reduction, changes to capital gains tax and tax avoidance measures were proposed yesterday, in order to raise the basic tax free income allowance to £10,000. Most of the media coverage yesterday spent a lot of time on the 'mansion tax' to be levied on homes, although this raises just 10% of the money required to raise the allowance. The proposals would take 4 million of the least well off out of the tax system on earnings. These people at the moment pay the largest proportion of their income on tax. The wealthiest in the UK pay the smallest proportion. This is clearly very unfair. The Lib Dem plans are an attempt to introduce more fairness into the tax system, and start to even up the levels of tax people pay across society. No doubt there will be vested interests who complain long and loud about us attacking the rich. It will no doubt be the same people who are quite happy with the unfairness we have right now.