Lewes Forum thread

A certain miserable English mangling lefty; Alf of the Green Party, has been suggesting an ultra progressive tax regime which would remove the structural deficit, he reckons, at a stroke.( Why are they always the same ?)
..coo and to think no-one noticed eh. That easy? Well we would all like more of other people’s money, they have a lot , and its always been popular. Why then does no serious politician suggest it ?
Here are some facts.
In 2008 The IFS calculated that the government would maximise revenues from those earning over £100,000 by imposing a marginal rate of 55.6% . At that time this close to the marginal rate of 53%including Income tax NI and indirect tax. That marginal rate is now higher and costs us money for symbolic reasons ( Says Robert Chote OBS)
The IFS Concluded -“No powerful case for increasing income tax on the very highest earners even on redistribute grounds”
Clue - Do you think( Golden Rule ) Gordon Brown would not have taken every last penny ? We are on the Laffer curve and above at the top end
The government's own survey of personal incomes tells us this
The top 1% of earners pay 11.6% of pre tax income and 22% of tax.
.he bottom 25% receive 8.2% of the national pre tax income and pay 2% of income tax.
1997-2008 The top 10 % of incomes grew by 17% The bottom 5% by 13.5%.
The poor ,in other words, got richer.
We already have a more redistributive society than Sweden, we start less equal( yes it’s a bad thing )but gross hand outs have been pushed to the limit.
So if anyone tells you that tax can be raised, but not from you, ordinary people, they are lying. Whether it’s semi digested guff (see Alf ) or a real world spending commitment hypothecated on some “rich “tax. You pay Discuss equality and fairness by all means but not fairy tales .(of which another is that evasion can be stopped)