A broken system
Reflecting a little more on the continuing 10pct tax rate debacle (the Independent has a great piece this morning), I would say the plans to scrap it owe as much to our broken electoral system as to the tax and benefits system.
Under the current system, general elections are decided by a small number of "swing" voters - people who switch between parties - situated in a small number of marginal constituencies. The interests of these voters, who are typically middle to high earners, often living in suburban areas or market towns, weigh very heavily in the minds of Governments.
So, as the Independent describes, we saw Gordon Brown trying to create headlines for these swing voters by reducing the "basic rate" by a couple of pennies. This was in advance of a possible general election, you recall. The Labour benches cheered! The only problem was, he did it at the expense of those who could least afford it. This was obvious from the start.
Fair taxes are important. The poorest people in our society rely heavily on public services. If the tax demanded from people is higher on the poor than on the rich, it means that trying to help the poor with better services simply means they get taxed more heavily. This is precisely the dilemma many local councils face with Council Tax: the last thing you want to do with an unfair tax is impose more of it, yet without income, local services face a bleak future.
It's time for a real change in the tax system.
