The Chancellor, and the Prime Minister, have misled the public:
There was no ‘black hole’ in the nation’s finances, but rather they needed every excuse in the book for yet another round of tax rises on working families across the country.
Mid Leicestershire families are having to tighten their belts so they can afford to pay taxes to a government that refuses to tighten its own.
As a result of this ‘Nightmare before Christmas’ Budget, we will see:
The Personal Income Tax Thresholds frozen at £12,570, the Higher starting rate frozen at £50,271; and a plethora of ‘stealth taxes’ that will affect us all as it drags 2 million more people into paying higher rates of tax than they otherwise would.
This will impact all of our disposable incomes as we join a ‘race to the bottom’ in living standards.
And what for?
This is a Budget that punishes those who work hard and do the right things, all whilst continuing to hand out even more in welfare payments.
The Government needs to re-assess its priorities, because this sense of injustice will only grow.
The refusal of the Chancellor, and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to deliver any meaningful savings in the benefits system is at the heart of this mess. We now face a spiralling welfare bill of £303.3 billion, with 23% of the working age-population receiving benefits.
A shrinking tax base and an expanding dependency culture, that we are seeing in the UK, is simply not sustainable for a prosperous and competitive nation.
To compound this sense of unfairness they have scrapped the two-child benefit cap. Under this system a family earning just over £50,000 a year (and perhaps struggling to make ends meet with two children) faces a 40% tax rate.
Yet a household with six children and no parent in employment can receive £14,000 extra from the State.
Many taxpayers believe this feels like a: “tax rise for me, benefits for thee” Budget.
You simply cannot make a poor man rich by making a “rich man” poor.
There is another way to get the nations finances in order and end the Welfare Bonanza.
The Conservative Party have found £23 billion in welfare savings.
We would stop sickness benefits to foreign nationals, bring back face-to-face assessment and fix the ‘sick note’ system that is rife throughout the UK. This would have given the Chancellor more than enough to fill her imaginary ‘black hole’ and also begun to restore fairness in the system.
But this Government has shown no appetite for reform.
So when the Chancellor calls this a “true Labour Budget”, I find it difficult to disagree. This was a Budget that does not support those who rise early, work hard, and aspire to build a better future for their families.
Instead, it is a dagger to the heart of social mobility and the only ones cheering this Budget will be those living on Benefits Street.
Despite promises to the contrary, Rachel has raised tax; so, any wonder so many say that she must now face the axe!
