News from the New Party

 

Speaking ahead of the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report expected in the next few weeks, Vass said that it was morally and economically bankrupt to tax people we believe to be earning a minimum standard, especially when they are already being taxed in a multitude of other ways.

 

“The current system effectively punishes people working hard to improve their lives. As a society we are saying that this is the lowest figure we deem acceptable for workers to earn and then take a large portion of it away from them. How is this in any way right? It is not! We need to unburden low earners of income tax and free them to define their own spending terms.

 

“Minimum wage earners need to be incentivised to remain in work, and the unemployed need to be incentivised into work. That is why the New Party would set the full-time minimum wage as the personal tax allowance with everyone paying a flat rate of 22% of earnings above this level,” said Vass.

 

The New Party is committed to a radical but carefully planned and executed shake-up of the tax system to free lower earners from income tax. Any tax cuts would depend on spending cuts being in place. They would also be phased-in gradually. This would allow the economy to improve steadily. Any immediate tax cut would only lead to a collapse in revenues.

 

Also, tax cuts would be implemented alongside tax simplification. The current labyrinthine tax credits and exemptions system would be removed. The combination of a low tax rate and few exemptions would reduce the incentive to avoid tax and lower compliance costs.

 

Vass: “Countries that have already adopted a flat tax have found that revenue from higher earners has increased as they no longer have the incentive to avoid taxation in their home country.

 

“Under our plans, lower earners benefit and the state’s coffers benefit by ensuring high earners pay tax in Britain rather than employing armies of accountants to filter their money through tax havens and elaborate avoidance schemes.

 

“This will certainly happen under Labour's plans for a 50% high-earner tax band. And it will cost us a fortune."