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Ming Camphell drew attention to one of them today at Prime Minister's Questions: we still believe in Local Income Tax to replace the unfair Council Tax.
Labour and now, it seems, Plaid Cymru, want to stick with the Tory tax which penalises householders on low fixed incomes.
4 comments:
Yeah, we want to saddle young people who already find it difficult to get somewhere to live with more taxes so the old people who are sitting on a pile of wealth can benefit.
The Council Tax is wrong, but so is the LIT.
Do I detect an ageist agenda here? OAPs were not mentioned specifically.
LIT is all about fairness to all householders.
Do you really believe that people should be forced to sell up and move out of their homes as soon as they stop earning? And what about those who rent, probably the majority of pensioners in this borough?
- Frank Little
- Frank Little
There are differences between the parties. One is that the three main parties in Wales are actually doing something and that the forgotten "fourth" is now no longer a viable party in Wales. Secondly two of the parties at least are looking carefully at affordable housing while the Tories are merely sniping from the sidelines. Thirdly the main parties and the forgotten one are campaigning on green issues while the Tories are determined to build nuclear plants. As far as local taxation is concerned I agree with the Lib Dems, despite being a Plaid member, but am concerned over how we ensure it's affordable to low or no income families. We also need to be aware in the NPT area salaries are very low which would result in a lowering of budgets for necessary work in the Borough.
>am concerned over how we ensure it's
> affordable to low or no income
> families.
This is the beauty of Local Income Tax; if you don't pay income tax, you will not be liable for local income tax either.
> We also need to be aware in the
> NPT area salaries are very low which
>would result in a lowering of
>budgets for necessary work in the
>Borough.
Yes, indeed. That has been a difficulty with local finance since the days of the rates. That is why the Treasury (now the Assembly Government in the case of Neath Port Talbot) issues grants which aim to compensate poorer areas.
That would continue under LIT.
As to Plaid, the party has put itself in a difficult position. Either it fights the next Westminster election with LIT as one of its planks, and is accused of facing two ways; or it denies years of actively siding with us over LIT, and falls in with Labour.
Why not switch to us? Wouldn't it be great to have 63 MPs in your corner fighting for increased powers for Wales?
- Frank Little
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