Lib Dems unveil income tax help
Monday, 20 April 2009 12:00 AM
By politics.co.uk staff
The Liberal Democrats have unveiled their plans to help cut income tax bills for low and middle income groups.
The party is promising to raise the income tax personal allowance to £10,000 by closing tax loopholes exploited by big businesses and the wealthy.
This should cut income tax by £700 for low and middle-income groups, party officials say.
"These plans will give money back to the people who really need it at the time when they need it most," said party leader Nick Clegg.
"It is time to end the unfairness that sees big businesses and the wealthy treating taxes as something to be easily avoided, leaving everybody else to pay out.
"For too long governments have been letting companies stash their money in offshore tax havens while taxpayers are left to foot the bill."
Workers would have to earn over £10,000 a year to see the extra £700, but raising the personal allowance would see four million people taken out of income tax altogether.
The party plans to make up the money by restricting tax relief on pension contributions to the basic rate, taxing capital gains at marginal income tax rates, allowing for indexation and retirement relief, tackling stamp duty land tax avoidance and corporation tax avoidance and by subjecting benefits in kind to national insurance contributions as well as income tax and applying national insurance to multiple jobs.
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