The 10p Tax Fiasco

Christian has been campaigning around York to raise awareness of the issues surrounding Gordon Brown's 10p tax fiasco.

Penalising the lowest paid in our society whilst simultaneously allowing so-called 'no-doms' to avoid paying any tax at all is bad enough but the inability of government to understand the mood of the nation is even more worrying.

The most marginalised group in society are being asked to bear the brunt of taxes changes that were devised and introduced by Gordon Brown himself in his last budget as chancellor prior to becoming Prime Minister. He has no-one to blame but himself. This is ironic since it was Brown who introduced the 10p tax band in the first place.

The measures proposed by Alisdair Darling in the weeks following the emergence of the row do little to sort the problem out. They propose a solution for most of those who lose out but only for this year.

As with the new car tax on larger cars that may be five or six years old, this is a poorly thought out response to a problem and shows the government's inability to see the big picture.

A further example of the same problem is found in the discussions being held last week to help poor families pay their energy bills in the wake of the massive increases in the cost of oil. Instead of considering help with paying a particular energy bill the government should be spending money on transforming levels of insulation in all the homes of those suffering fuel poverty as quickly as possible. That way any investment in tackling the problem will have lasting benefits, but long term planning is not the way this government operates.

The electorate are right to be annoyed with a government that is obsessed with micromanaging but unable to articulate broad strategy and unwilling to implement long term solutions.

Published and promoted by Christian Vassie, 10 Blake Court, Wheldrake, York YO19 6BT