Monday, November 24, 2008

Vince Cable's response to the pre-budget report

The Liberal Democrat website has the full text:

"What I fail to see is how the economy receives a major stimulus from, for example, a £5 cut in the price of a £220 imported flat-screen television or a 50p cut in a £25 restaurant bill. Surely it would be much more sensible to put money directly in the pockets of low-paid workers by cutting their income tax, rather than offering them a pathetic £25 and, if they earn over £20,000 a year, the prospect of tax increases.

"The Government have at last, after 11 years, acknowledged that there is a problem of inequality relating to the tax system. What they propose is a higher rate of tax for very high earners, after two years-possibly. What is needed, surely, is a comprehensive approach which involves cutting income tax for low-paid middle-income families and removing the vast plethora of tax reliefs and allowances from which the wealthy benefit, rather than this very limited fig leaf for redistributive policy.

3 comments:

Mark Thompson said...

I agree wholeheartedly with VC's comments.

I have also made a couple more points about today here regarding why today was not treated as a full budget and about why the government is effectively being allowed to bind the hands of the next two parliaments.

Jennie Rigg said...

Love the way he spat out "pathetic"

The Half-Blood Welshman said...

Vince Cable - as ever the most impressive of the three financial spokesmen. I thought everything he said was bang on the money (no pun intended).

What a shame that I have decided after this I must vote for the one party that can beat Labour - and round here, that means the Tories. He would have earned my vote many times over long ago if I lived in a Lib/Lab marginal.