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14-Mar-08, Press Release.
Adam Afriyie MP gives
his analysis of Government’s tax and spending plans
Adam Afriyie MP, Shadow
Minister for Science and Innovation, this week delivered his
verdict on the Budget which sets out the Government’s plans
for taxes and public spending. Adam highlighted a series of
areas where local residents across the Windsor area will
lose out:
·
Little
help for pensioners:
The Winter Fuel Allowance has been increased for the first
time in five years, but the increase is a only a one-off
payment for this year.
·
Harder
to get onto the housing ladder:
This Budget fails
to address the growing burden of stamp duty on first-time
buyers - half of whom now pay stamp duty. More family homes
will be paying 3 and 4 per cent stamp duty, as the
thresholds are unchanged.
·
Higher
income tax and National Insurance for many:
Tax changes on National Insurance and income tax announced
in the last Budget are still to come into effect.
Independent experts have calculated that 3.5 million
families will be worse off as a result.
·
Drivers
face new stealth taxes:
The Government is to fund new technology to impose
controversial ‘spy-in-the-sky’ national road pricing taxes.
Meanwhile, family cars face extra taxes of £735 million a
year without a corresponding tax cut on small cars.
Adam said:
“Gordon Brown has
squandered the economic legacy he inherited in the good
times and left our country with no room for manoeuvre now
times are tough.”
“The
cost of living is rising fast, but Gordon Brown’s Government
has added to it with a barrage of new stealth taxes. This
is a bad news Budget that adds £110 a year to the tax bill
for families across the Windsor area.“
“Any extra taxes on
alcohol or cars should be offset by tax cuts elsewhere, but
Labour has just used them as an excuse to raise more money
for Gordon Brown’s coffers. Taxes and borrowing are up
because the Government failed to use the good years to
prepare for the bad years.”
ENDS
Contact Details:
Telephone: 020 7219 8023
Email:
afriyiea@parliament.uk
Notes to Editors
HIGHER
TAXES
As a
result of the Budget, the tax take will be £2.8 billion a
year higher by 2010, equivalent to £110 for every family.
STEALTH TAXES ON ALCOHOL
The
Budget has announced a six per cent increase above the rate
of inflation in all alcohol duty rates to come into effect
on 17 March 2008. Duty rates will then rise by two per cent
above the rate of inflation in future years. This will raise
an additional £1.2 billion in taxes over the next three
years. Conservatives have called for alcohol taxes to target
problem drinks – such as alcopops, strong beer/cider, with
offsetting tax reductions on lower alcohol drinks.
GROWING COUNCIL TAX BURDEN ON PENSIONERS
The
Winter Fuel Allowance has been frozen for the last five
years, at a time when the average fuel bill has risen by 60
per cent in the last 4 years – with the average bill up from
£572 in 2003 to £924 now. Although the Allowance rises
slightly, this is only for one year – in the same way that
the £200 payment for pensioners’ council tax was introduced
for only one year ahead of the 2005 general election.
Council tax receipts are due to rise by 5.1% - equivalent to
another £1.2 billion a year.
HARDER TO GET ONTO THE HOUSING LADDER
The
Budget fails to address the growing burden of stamp duty on
first-time buyers - half of whom now pay stamp duty. A
typical first-time buyer is unable to afford an average
house in 96 per cent of all towns. By contrast, under
Conservative plans to raise the stamp duty threshold to
£250,000 for first-time buyers, 93 per cent of them would
pay no stamp duty.
None of
the thresholds for the 3 per cent or 4 per cent stamp duty
bands (£250,000 and £500,000 respectively) have been
increased since their introduction, despite rising house
prices. As a result, more and more homes are being dragged
into the higher stamp duty brackets every year.
STEALTH TAXES ON FAMILY CARS
The
Budget reaffirms the Government plans for a national road
pricing tax, despite 1.8 million people signing a Downing
Street petition against the new charges.
Vehicle Excise Duty tax
rises on larger, family cars is fifty times larger than the
tax cut on the smallest clean cars. The tax cut for clean
cars is £15 million, while the tax rise for polluting cars
will rake in £735 million a year by 2010.
HIGHER INCOME TAXES AND NATIONAL INSURANCE
Tax
changes from the 2007 Budget will also come into effect.
From April 2008, the 10 pence income tax starting rate will
be removed for earned income and National Insurance
Contributions will increase as the upper limit for paying
the 11 per cent rate will rise by £75 per week to £745 or
£38,740 per year. Independent experts at the Institute for
Fiscal Studies have calculated that 3.5 million families
will be worse off as a result of the changes.
From
April 2009, National Insurance Contributions will increase
again as the upper limit for paying the 11 per cent rate
will rise to the same level as the top rate income tax
threshold. The overall impact of income tax/NIC changes will
cost working families over £300 million a year.
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