Do They Think None Of Us Can Remember Pre 2010?

[New Judge]

Just watching the news. The Labour Party is accusing the Tories of pandering to the rich by suggesting that they are thinking of cutting the top rate of income tax from 45% to 40% (which, incidentally, the Tories deny):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32188499

Mr Balls is suggesting that a cut to 40% would mean a “tax cut of hundreds of thousands of pounds for the very richest in our country”

For all but about a fortnight of Labour’s term in office from 1997 to 2010 the top rate of income tax was 40%. Only a few weeks before they were certain to be booted out of office did they implement the 50% rate for incomes over £150k (which the Coalition reduced to 45%).

If Labour thought 40% was an inadequate rate to tax top earners why did it take them thirteen years to do something about it? The BBC, of course, when covering the issue, "rolled back" only to 2010 and stated that it was the new (Tory led) government that reduced the top rate tax but neglected to mention that it had taken Labour 13 years to introduce it. But that's par for the course.

[ichkeria]

Isn't the point here that a 'cut' is being talked of, in times of alleged austerity. The actual figure isn't really the point. Even as a Labour supporter I agree that 'pandering to the rich' is rather strong language for this particular measure, although I would take some convincing that the Tory party does not do that generally with the hyper wealthy and its obscene fund raiders.
I'd repeat what I said earlier: grater wealth does not necessarily equal harder work

[ichkeria]

'Fund raisers' is what I meant although the auto correct occasionally is quite clever :-)

[Old_Geezer]

Many of us work damn hard, not all get massive income as a result. Were there moral differentials applied the gulf between high income and low would not be so excessive. There is only so much wealth floating around and if one grabs excess if means others go without.

[Old_Geezer]

IT MEANS ...
As I typed.

[mrs_overall]

I can remember a time when Labour imposed a tax rate of 90% on the very rich. They left the country in droves

[lady-janine]

quite right mrs O. and they never came back.

[venator]

I remember the 90% rate, Mrs O.

In fact, with the supertax surcharge, the effective rate of tax on "unearned income" was 105%

Only a Labour Chancellor could dream that up!

[naomi24]

OG, //Were there moral differentials applied the gulf between high income and low would not be so excessive.//

And neither would there be so much wealth generated for the ‘common good’. There is no incentive whatsoever in working excessively long hours to generate business that provides jobs if the man doing the building and shouldering all the responsibility ends up in the same financial position as the fellow who goes home every day at the end of an 8 hour shift to put his feet up in front of the telly. High earners usually well and truly earn their money, they pay a higher rate of tax and National Insurance, they take very little from the system, and still they are expected to share the rest with those who do less and earn less. For those who bang on about wealth sharing, morals seem to work only one way.

[Gromit]

In effect, the rate for top earners is there to keep the basic rate down for the majority.
The Government have a target tax rake, and reducing the amount raised from top earners would mean the basic rate would have to rise to 25%ish.

Labour raised the rate for high earners as part of its plan to reduce the deficit. Basically, there are two ways to reduce the deficit, make cuts, and put up taxes. Labour knew it could not put up basic rate tax for the masses before an election, so it targetted the rich, who it figured wouldn't be voting Labour anyway.

[Gromit]

The national debt has doubled over 5 years from £0.74trillion to £1.5trillion.

The only way of paying any of that off is to make a surplus, not a deficit.

The Chancellor will not get into surplus by cutting taxes. That will reduce the Government income.

Any talk of tax cuts under these circumstances is completely irresponsible.

[mrs_overall]

Gromit, when you say the national debt has increased so much over the past 5 years, I take it you are laying the blame on the Conservatives?

Can I point out that when the last Labour Government (under "Blood on My Hands" Blair) came to power, they inherited (from the Conservatives) the healthiest economy this country has ever known. Look what they did with it.

[Gromit]

Mrs O.

I am blaming the Coalition, but chiefly the Chancellor, George Osborne.

// Labour...inherited the healthiest economy this country has ever known. //

You do know that is true? Why would Blair get a Landslide if everything was so wonderful?

[Ellipsis]

> The Labour Party is accusing the Tories of pandering to the rich by suggesting that they are thinking of cutting the top rate of income tax from 45% to 40%

Are you surprised? This is after all the party that said they'd "abolished" the 10p starting rate of income tax, when what they meant was they'd doubled it to 20p!

[lindapalmara]

Talking about 'poor people'. Ask the woman who is on benefits, expeting her 12th child, buying £900 Mulbery Handbag and taking £7,000 holidays.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3026508/Shameless-benefits-couple-12-children-plan-10-000-wedding-Las-Vegas-helicopter-flight-limo-ride-thrown-s-paid-taxpyer.html

[mrs_overall]

Gromit. I started to type a very lengthy answer to you and then decided against it.
We will have to agree to disagree :-)

[Gromit]

Mrs O,

Major lost in 1997 on the economy. He presided over Black Wednesday which cost us £27billion and interest rates hit 15%.

[mushroom25]

.....how about those of us in the middle, who ed balls is threatening with a reduction in the threshold for the 40% tax rate? are we too considered to be unprincipled geasy money grabbers who need to be given a good fleecing?

[mrs_overall]

Gromit, as I said, we will have to agree to disagree.
However, if you want a game of tit for tat I am up for it. ;-)
My starter for 10 is Gordon Brown selling off the gold reserves at rock bottom prices

[whiskeryron]

Isn't it time we sorted tax out properly ? Abolish income tax altogether so what ever you earn you take home. All tax should be purchase tax so whatever you buy you pay tax on. Abandon all food banks, allow all who are earning below a certain threshold to purchase food essential commodities without tax. Cancel child benefits altogether ( you make 'em you keep 'em).
Drastically cut overseas aid ( make the UK the priority). Let us at long last put some sense into politics.

[lindapalmara]

//Gromit, as I said, we will have to agree to disagree.
However, if you want a game of tit for tat I am up for it. ;-)
My starter for 10 is Gordon Brown selling off the gold reserves at rock bottom prices //

And deregulating the banks so that that we became one of the few countries that had to bail out our reckless banks. Milliband apologised for that yet again in the debate last week.

Labour keep saying it was a 'Global' financial crisis, starting in Ameria yet we were the