Britains Labour Proposes Tax Cuts - Road to the Middle Class

He cut two percent from corporation tax, from 30 percent to 28 percent, and he cut two percent from the “basic rate” of individual income tax, from 22 percent to 20 percent.

For conservative commentators like Simon Heffer it was the last straw. For months they have been complaining that the Conservatives under “Dave” Cameron have been making a bad mistake by holding back on proposing tax cuts and instead talk about responsible stewardship and balancing public and private needs by “sharing the proceeds of growth.”

This strategy was in ruins, Heffer complained.

It crashed spectacularly, and at a velocity nearer the speed of light than of sound, at about 1.15pm yesterday, when Gordon Brown announced he was cutting tuppence off income tax.

But did it? Is it not a good thing when the left-wing party proposes tax rate cuts?

The problem that the British Tories have had for the last ten years is that whenever they proposed tax cuts the Labour Party (and the chattering class) immediately accused them of turning their backs on schools and the National Health Service.

But if Labour now thinks that tax rate cuts are a good idea, then tax rate cuts are on the table—for everyone.

Anyway, the British people don’t seem that impressed by the proposed cuts. According to an overnight opinion poll:

Seven out of 10 people believe Gordon Brown’s give-and-take Budget has left them worse off or will make no difference to their family finances[.]

Place your bets. How much am I bid for a tax cut?

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Christopher Chantrill blogs at www.roadtothemiddleclass.com. His Road to the Middle Class is forthcoming.

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