20/09/2005

Lib Dems call for ‘fairer taxes’

The Liberal Democrats have been urged to adopt a policy of “fairer taxes; not higher taxes”.

During a keynote speech at the party’s autumn conference in Blackpool, Treasury spokesperson Vince Cable, said that the Liberal Democrats had to dissociate itself from its image as a ‘high tax and big spending party’.

Mr Cable warned: “There will be no credibility whatsoever for the Party in promising to spend more than Labour. The only strategy that will make sense is to build on our pre-election approach of emphasising the need for tough choices.

The Treasury spokesperson said that there were many people who paid too much tax. He said: “It is fundamentally wrong that people – be they workers or pensioners – who are bringing home less than the equivalent of the minimum wage should be paying income tax, on top of council tax and indirect taxes.”

Mr Cable also warned of the “imbalance” in the economy caused by “debt-fuelled consumer spending”. He said: “British families have acquired unprecedented levels of personal debt, in relation to their income. Personal debt, [Chancellor] Gordon Brown’s legacy to millions of families, will hang like a millstone around the neck of the British people for years to come.”

The Liberal Democrats have appointed a tax commission to examine their tax policy ahead of the next general election.

There has been speculation that their proposal of a 50% tax rate for high-earners on £100,000 per year or more could be scrapped.

(KMcA/SP)

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