VAT increase is a wake-up call for Lib Dems
29 June 2010
Deputy leader Adrian Ramsay calls for Liberal Democrat supporters to join the Greens and campaign for fairness and progressive taxation.
The VAT increase is anything but unavoidable. Research economists from the respected IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies) have stated that these cuts will hit the poorest hardest and will keep doing so year after year (1). We know that cuts are not an economic inevitability but rather an ideological choice (2). We are witnessing a coalition who are relishing their chance to reduce public spending, forcing those on lower incomes to pay the highest price for the rampant excesses of the bankers. Disappointed Liberal Democrat voters are increasingly worried at the shape this coalition is taking, and rightly so. By contrast, the Green Party stands for a fairer tax system, is against savage and indiscriminate cuts, and opposes the regressive VAT increase. Tax avoidance and evasion should surely be appropriate targets for a responsible and progressive government. This is a wake-up call to Liberal Democrat supporters to join the Greens and campaign for fairness and progressive taxation - taxation that doesn't disproportionately disadvantage those who can least afford it.
Notes:
1. http://www.ifs.org.uk/budgets/budgetjune2010/chote.pdf2. http://www.financeforthefuture.com/TaxBriefing.pdf
Share
