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New New Labour

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    New New Labour

    They are now calling for tax cuts!

    Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls has called for "decisive action ... to boost growth", offering suggestions for tax cuts in next month's Budget.

    Mr Balls' ideas include a VAT cut, a 3p income tax cut for a year, bringing forward the planned personal allowance rise to £10,000 and higher tax credits.

    No tax cut could mean "a permanent dent in our nation's prosperity", he said.

    The Conservatives said excessive borrowing and debt under Labour had led to the current financial mess.

    Mr Balls told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show the current austerity measures were "self defeating" and had left Chancellor George Osborne claiming he was "trapped by the credit rating agencies".

    The shadow chancellor said he favoured a cut in VAT - which is a sales tax rather than a tax on income - because it would be the "fastest and fairest" way of boosting the economy.

    "We've got to get growth back in the economy," he told the programme.

    Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Balls said: "Some people may be surprised to see Labour prioritising tax cuts. But in a crisis there is a premium on what works effectively and quickly to get our economy moving."

    He said that such a cut should be funded by borrowing, not more spending cuts.

    He claimed it was "absurd" to argue that the £12bn cost of reversing the government's 2.5% VAT rise was unaffordable, when borrowing was £158bn higher than planned because of slower growth and higher unemployment than had been forecast.

    "Such a tax cut now would boost confidence, help families feeling the squeeze and help get our economy moving again."

    He added: "Without that decisive action in the Budget to boost growth, I fear we are in for a lost decade of slow growth and high unemployment which will leave a permanent dent in our nation's prosperity."

    Source: BBC News - Ed Balls suggests Budget tax cut options

    This gives Osborne carte blanche to cut taxes in new Budget - assuming his LibDem "partners" are ok with it

    #2
    I always thought that the Conservatives were all for cutting taxes?

    After what's happened in the USA, I'm beginning to wonder if that pillock Brown might have actually been right in the first place.

    Comment


      #3
      Right now, labour can say whatever they like. They can call for us all to commute on unicorns with rainbows streaming from their arses.

      And they have said pretty much what they like. However new new labour creeps me out. The milliband brothers are like clones gone wrong.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by wim121 View Post
        However new new labour creeps me out. The milliband brothers are like clones gone wrong.
        I don't care if they come from Pluto as long as we get some steam in the boiler.

        It's like waiting for a dead elephant to walk out of a swamp by itself at the moment.

        We are going to end up with the highest credit rating in the third world

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by wim121 View Post
          Right now, labour can say whatever they like.
          Yes and Conservative Govt should take advantage of it and get some real tax cuts through - this could be stuff like long term CGT relief (like under Labour), amount of money lost won't be high but it can just encourage investment.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by KimberleyChris View Post
            I don't care if they come from Pluto as long as we get some steam in the boiler.
            They wont do though, they're all talk, hence why they can say anything they like ....

            I do want to commute on a unicorn though.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by AtW View Post
              Yes and Conservative Govt should take advantage of it and get some real tax cuts through - this could be stuff like long term CGT relief (like under Labour), amount of money lost won't be high but it can just encourage investment.
              Yes, I cant see why the 50p rate hasnt been cut. As I said a while back, they need to encourage commerce and innovation to create further jobs.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by wim121 View Post
                Yes, I cant see why the 50p rate hasnt been cut.
                It's politics.

                It can also be useful to encourage long term investment via low CGT. This won't happen of course because of Vince Cable who was allegedly against returning CGT relief on long term investments because big bad VCs "abused" it

                Comment


                  #9
                  let me see we maxed out our credit cards, overdraft and we want to drop our pay packet?

                  What gets business going is investment and simplification of regulations.
                  Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    "He said that such a cut should be funded by borrowing, not more spending cuts."

                    Absurd. Borrow more and you've got an even bigger deficit problem, which will be even more painful to sort out.

                    I don't know how anyone can take this seriously.

                    Comment

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