UK NEWS
'STEALTH TAX RISE HITTING MILLIONS'
Alistair Darling
By Anil Dawar
MILLIONS of hard-working British families are being hit by a stealth income tax increase because the Government is refusing to change tax brackets in line with wage inflation, experts point out today.
Since 2005, the UK’s average income has risen 15.2 per cent but the average amount of tax deducted from workers’ pay has jumped by 19.6 per cent.
Rob Durrant-Walker, a tax specialist with accountants UHY Hacker Young, says the huge gap is hitting Britain’s middle classes hardest and is down to the Chancellor’s decision not to move tax bands to match growing salaries.
Mr Durrant-Walker said: “This is a way of the Government bringing in tax increases via the back door. “We know what the Chancellor Alistair Darling’s borrowing requirements are going to be but we would like any tax increases to be conspicuous and not brought in as a stealth tax.”
A survey by Hacker Young revealed workers in St Albans, Hertfordshire, paid the most tax of anywhere in the country last year. The city’s residents earned an average £43,500 last year costing them £10,500 in income tax per head.
Windsor in Berkshire followed with an average tax bill of £10,100 and the residents of Guildford, Surrey, paid £8,800. The east Yorkshire city of Hull had the lowest tax average with just £2,360 paid on earnings of little more than £17,300.
Last year the average UK income was £24,292, up from £21,080 in 2005, and the average income tax contribution was £4,333 compared to £3,620 three years earlier.
Matthew Elliott of the Taxpayers’ Alliance said the Government should be exposed for “this massive deception.”
He added: “We’re already over-taxed and we can’t afford to pay any more.”
BEWARE THE BUDGET SMALL PRINT
20.04.09, 11:52am
Have your magnifiying glasses ready to examine the small print slipped into the Budget on Wednesday by Darling on the orders of his master. That small print will inflict the real damage on "hard-working" tax-paying families.
Will the rich end up paying more tax? I doubt it. But clearly someone is going to have to pay the massive bill for this national economic catastrophe even though they never caused it. But for many modestly paid workers yet more tax may prove to be last straw - inducing millions of them to throw in the towel and opt for a life on benefits.
• Posted by: panadero • Report Comment
'STEALTH TAX RISE HITTING MILLIONS'
20.04.09, 10:14am
You know, the British Government is, in its corporate entity, a service provider. However it is a service provider whose services are compulsory. Can anybody see any alternatives?
Now this business of taxation: originally a temporary measure introduced to pay for the napoleonic campaign of wellington. Many people now understand that the whole shebang was engendered by bankers to put our country into debt. Of course our service provider of first and last resort, only pays the interest so that the debt compounds nicely as in a "Ponzi scheme". now, written into the Bankruptcy Act of 1869 is a section which recognises the "Ponzis'" weakness, that it leads to the debtor being unable to service the manipulated debt interest to the bankers. To that end, it was written into the act that there would be "Debt forgiveness" every seventy years. So that would be 1869-1939 and 1939-2009 and 2009-2079 and so on. We know what situation placed us into debt in 1939. What about 2009?
Well the crisis of course, with naturally some wars and state terrorism thrown in for good measure. In a talk (downloadable) at the royal institute RIIA (Tavistock) Douglas Alexander told the audience that an entire half of the globes GDP was withdrawn from circulation by the central banks. "Missing" was the euphemism he used. Thee is the real crisis. Derivatives the con and the criminal activity used to steal our tax money. All done to globalise bankruptcy. There were 7 countries in bakruptcy (G7) there are now 20 (G20). We have been had by a government of "made men" owned by the banksters. Time this stopped isn't it?...
• Posted by: blam • Report Comment
GORDON'S GUILEFUL GOVERNMENT
20.04.09, 9:46am
These people are shameless! I haven't seen such blatant disregard for the taxpayer since I gave up managing my banana plantation. We should give our leaders military uniforms and medals and black Mercedes - it would be more appropriate to the way they run our country.
• Posted by: johnproblem • Report Comment
I AGREE JOHN_DERBY
20.04.09, 9:44am
To admit that Whitehall may actually be able to run on
£15 billion pound less is a bit of a shock......What !! we have been paying billions of pounds more in taxes than we needed to because of government wastage "!!!!!!!!!
What shambolic mess !
They have wasted and squandered and feathered their own nests and now Britain has floundered !!!
COME ON CAMERON...WHERE IS YOUR CALL FOR A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE......DO IT SOON OR THE ELECTORATE MIGHT LOSE CONFIDENCE IN YOU !
• Posted by: marigold • Report Comment
HUMPTY DUMPTY HAD A GREAT FALL
20.04.09, 9:16am
Like Humpty Dumpty, this useless bunch of wreckers inherited a stable economy but brought it tumbling down by their sheer incompetence. Meanwhile sleazy Labour MP's just keep on claiming their lucrative expenses as if somehow we should be thanking them for the wonderful job they did in bankrupting our country.
• Posted by: oliver_cromwell • Report Comment
GORMLESS AND HIS GLOVE PUPPET CONTINUE TO SPIN AND LIE AND THIEVE FROM THE TAXPAYER
20.04.09, 8:34am
For years this government has not increased personal allowances in line with inflation.
It has also raised direct taxes, but, has "hidden" it by adding it to national insurance ratrher than tax. More Labour spin.
Now they are claiming that they will save £15bn by making Whitehall more efficient. SO WHY WASN'T THIS DONE 10 YEARS AGO AND THE MONEY SAVED - THAT £150bn WOULD HAVE SEEN US THROUGH THE RECESSION.
Either Labour are LYING to us now - or - this is an ADMISSION of their gross negligence for the last 10+ years.
• Posted by: John__Derby • Report Comment
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