Responding to the Government’s Draft Pre-legislative Statement published yesterday, Katy Gordon, Parliamentary Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said:

“On Tuesday we heard that Gordon Brown was giving away £2.7 billion to all tax payers to plug the hole for the lower paid created by his abolition of the 10p tax rate.  But only around £630m – less than a quarter – will actually go to the 5.3 million people who lost out, making it an extremely poorly targeted policy.

Yesterday he rushed out his legislative plans for next year 2 months earlier than last year.  But these proposals are either addressing things the Government said weren’t a problem, like the economy, or trying to turn around problems the Government has created, like over-centralisation.  Do we really need another 6 Home Affairs Bills, when they have already created 3,000 new offences since 1997?  These proposals will do nothing to help the people of Glasgow North who are struggling with fuel poverty and the rising cost of living.

Is it a coincidence that both announcements have come at a time when Labour is desperate to avoid a by election defeat in Crewe & Nantwich?  Policy making in response to news headlines is no way to run the country.”

On 6th April, Labour doubled the starting rate of income tax from 10p to 20p in the pound. Previously, a 10p rate was paid on the first £2230 of taxable income. As a result, instead of taking £223 in income tax on this portion of people’s wages, Gordon Brown’s government is taking £446.

Though the standard rate of income tax has been cut from 22p to 20p in the pound, a single person with no children would have to be earning over £18,500 to be better off under the tax changes.

“Things have gone seriously wrong when Labour has pushed up taxes on people on low incomes to pay for tax cuts for the better off,” said Katy Gordon, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Glasgow North “This is a case of Labour robbing taxpayer Peter to pay taxpayer Paul.

Thousands of residents on lower incomes in Glasgow North are now receiving sharply increased tax demands at the same time as the council tax bills are arriving. And many are facing big increases in bills for gas, electricity and transport.

Gordon Brown announced his tax grab a year ago. But in that time Labour has done nothing to reduce the impact of their tax demands. It seems Labour has totally lost touch with the reality of ordinary people’s lives. Labour no longer appears to be on the side of ordinary people.

Those worst hit by the tax changes include:

• A single person with no children earning less than £18,500 will be a net loser, by up to £232 a year.
• People taking early retirement with a taxable income of less than £8,000 will lose, by up to £232 a year.

Liberal Democrat plans to cut the tax burden for those on low income include scrapping council tax and replacing it with a local tax based on ability to pay, and cutting the standard rate of national income tax by 4p in the pound, paid for by closing tax loopholes used by the wealthy and by increasing green taxes, such as the duties paid by the most polluting vehicles and those who travel in the most polluting aircraft