Monday, August 01, 2011
Liberal Democrats hold out for fair tax system
It is not often that the words 'well done Danny Alexander' pass my lips, but yesterday was such an occasion. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury went onto television yesterday and dismissed demands by the Tory right wing to cut the top rate of tax.
The Independent says that Danny was scathing about a suggestion that cutting taxes for the best-off would make the economy more competitive:
Last week, Mayor of London Boris Johnson backed the move as "a signal that London is open for business".
Mr Alexander told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "Anyone who thinks we are going to shift our priority to reducing the tax burden for the wealthiest has another think coming. That cannot be the right priority."
He said the Coalition's priority had to be to push through tax cuts aimed at people on low and middle incomes.
"The idea that we are going to somehow shift our focus to the wealthiest in the country at a time when everyone is under pressure is just in cloud cuckoo land," he added.
He is absolutly right. This is not a Conservative Government, it is a coalition and it is built into the agreement that fairness in the way we levy taxes should be at the very heart of it. That means using what resources we have to cut taxes for the worse off, not help those whose incomes are much higer.
The Independent says that Danny was scathing about a suggestion that cutting taxes for the best-off would make the economy more competitive:
Last week, Mayor of London Boris Johnson backed the move as "a signal that London is open for business".
Mr Alexander told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "Anyone who thinks we are going to shift our priority to reducing the tax burden for the wealthiest has another think coming. That cannot be the right priority."
He said the Coalition's priority had to be to push through tax cuts aimed at people on low and middle incomes.
"The idea that we are going to somehow shift our focus to the wealthiest in the country at a time when everyone is under pressure is just in cloud cuckoo land," he added.
He is absolutly right. This is not a Conservative Government, it is a coalition and it is built into the agreement that fairness in the way we levy taxes should be at the very heart of it. That means using what resources we have to cut taxes for the worse off, not help those whose incomes are much higer.
