tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post2697584246731356425..comments2024-03-25T12:55:40.911+00:00Comments on Caron's Musings: Labour's Living Wage vs our raising of the tax thresholdAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04988201531739344840noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-60292373338376191692010-09-30T11:44:37.591+01:002010-09-30T11:44:37.591+01:00People paying 40p tax aren't benefiting from t...People paying 40p tax aren't benefiting from the threshold increase as 40p threshold is going down by the same amount to cancel out that gain for them. So it is flatly untrue to say that raising the threshold benefits the richest.<br /><br />There is a gain for everybody on the 20p rate, not just those at the lower end of that range, and I see nothing wrong with that.<br /><br />And the minimum wage is not free either, remember. If it goes up too much there will be significant numbers of jobs lost as a result. How much is too much? That's for the low pay commission to do the sums on.Joe Ottenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18380362092159905533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-58566295977589901542010-09-30T10:45:18.953+01:002010-09-30T10:45:18.953+01:00The corollary of LFF's rather bizarre attitude...The corollary of LFF's rather bizarre attitude towards raising the tax band is that the Government should only ever spend money on helping out poor people, and that cutting taxes for everyone is somehow immoral. This would perhaps work if you believed that the only function of the state is to look after the very poorest, but if you believe that you'll also be in favour of removing council housing from people who don't need it any more. Consistency, chaps, please.Adam Bellhttp://declineofthelogos.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-41505230622054910352010-09-29T21:18:45.355+01:002010-09-29T21:18:45.355+01:00Its another one of those manifesto pledges that we...Its another one of those manifesto pledges that we have now managed to get out there into government and ultimately into peoples pockets.<br /><br />I'm no economist thats for sure, but the more we trumpet these achievments, the more people will see that whilst we may be a junior partner in the coalition, a partner we are none the less.<br /><br />These are exactly the kind of things that we said we would do if people voted for us and are direct challenges to the accusations of 'soul selling' that some like to aim at us from the other side of the house.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-36910318105440672202010-09-29T21:12:44.346+01:002010-09-29T21:12:44.346+01:00Labour is a sad party in delusion of its own impor...Labour is a sad party in delusion of its own importance, nil.<br /><br />http://newsnetscotland.com/general/698-iain-gray-scotland-has-just-experienced-the-best-of-times<br /><br />The only people will be female workers in the public sector trying to get a comparable wage, where have Labour been the last 13 years on holiday.cynicalHighlanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06034325908473006163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-60227832405369803652010-09-29T21:12:15.923+01:002010-09-29T21:12:15.923+01:00Oh as well- only the richest 40% of pensioners get...Oh as well- only the richest 40% of pensioners get anything from raising the income tax threshold to £10,000.<br /><br />"First, raising tax thresholds doesn’t help the poorest because they don’t have enough to pay income tax. Though the tax cut would cost £17 billion, three million households in the poorest quarter of the population would get not a penny of help. That includes the majority of pensioners. We notice some Lib Dem election leaflets sold this policy as “£100 for pensioners”. But it wouldn’t be. It would be £100 for the richest 40% of pensioners and nothing for the poorest 60% of pensioners."Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-27093481964271679182010-09-29T20:15:19.117+01:002010-09-29T20:15:19.117+01:00"Labour's Living Wage vs our raising of t..."Labour's Living Wage vs our raising of the tax threshold"<br /><br />Why not both...?Bravehearthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07223196805548966030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-11922945463869413002010-09-29T19:59:13.906+01:002010-09-29T19:59:13.906+01:00The difference is that one is regressive, one prog...The difference is that one is regressive, one progressive. One is far more expensive that the other, also.<br /><br />The IFS calculated that raising the income tax threshold to £10,000 would cost £17billion, of which only £1billion- or 6%- would go towards taking people out of tax. The richest benefit far more than the poorest. <br /><br />As Left Foot Forward says- “Spending £17 billion on increasing the personal allowance is a very poor way to help those on low incomes. It could actually harm the welfare of low-income households by increasing inequality and relative poverty.”<br /><br /><br />And as the Liberal Democrat "Social Liberal Forum" said before the election- <br /><br />"The fact that raising the tax threshold helps people on higher incomes more than people on low incomes is not, believe it or not, a startling revelation. We know. The party has never tried selling this policy in isolation; we’d be mad to attempt to because people would rightly ask where we propose trying to find £17bn. The two are meant to balance each other; that’s why we are calling for a tax shift and not either a rise or reduction in taxes overall1."<br /><br />Of course the Mansion tax and the Green taxes were soon given up.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-61355799252648447592010-09-29T19:45:17.012+01:002010-09-29T19:45:17.012+01:00The difference is that raising the tax threshold (...The difference is that raising the tax threshold (which I support) benefits all people, not just the poorest. It also costs money which, we are told, the Government doesnt have much of at the moment.<br /><br />The living wage, however, would not actually cost the government money - other than in its own wage costs (as the minimum wage), and would force employers to think about the pay and conditions of its lowest paid workers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com