The Ten Pence Tax Rate Fiasco

I rarely use my blog to talk about political matters but like millions of other Britons I feel quite incensed about the Government's decision to abolish the 10 pence tax rate for low earners. It is totally unjust that hard working people on low wages have had their taxes increased whilst those on higher incomes have had a tax cut.

Now, the Government is talking about giving some of the money back in the future via tax credits. It would be far better not to take the money from low earners in the first place as the administrative costs would be lower and many people would not know how to claim the credits. Additionally, it seems unjust that people will have to go cap in hand to the Government to reclaim their own money. I can only assume that the Labour party are trying to create more clients who will depend on them for their well being.

This proposal was announced one year ago and yet only now have we heard the howls of protests from Labour backbenchers. It was obvious at the time of the announcement that the tax change would harm low earners. Why has it taken so long for the backbenchers to realise the implications that were obvious to anyone with even a modicom of intelligence?

The whole thing stinks. Low earning workers, who often do the jobs that others don't want to do, keep many of our essential services running. They should be rewarded not punished.