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£407 billion

That is the amount that the UK Government has said that it intends to borrow over the next five years in the pre-budget report.

Will it work?

Only time will tell but with unemployment rising, personal debts at record levels and house prices falling, will £2.50 saved on every £100 spent really make a difference?

I don't think so....

Comments

Anonymous said…
I dont think so either - did I hear him right about increasing tax on fuel
November 24, 2008 11:22 pm
Anonymous said…
they do better than tories
November 25, 2008 3:10 pm
Anonymous said…
We'll see my socialist friend
November 25, 2008 6:57 pm
Anonymous said…
Pre-Budget Report: Don't be distracted by Labour's move to tax the rich
Posted By: James Kirkup at Nov 24, 2008 at 11:41:01 [General]
Posted in: Politics , Three Line Whip
Tags:fiscal squeeze, Income Tax, Pre-Budget Report

Unless it directly affects you, do not become fixated on the prospect of a higher rate of income tax on the highest earners. It's a side-show, a convenient distraction from the real issues here. For how much will it raise? Two or three billion quid? That is, to be frank, not much to a Government that's proposing to push borrowing well over £100 billion a year.

Yes, there'll eventually be a squeeze on public spending. But will that and a 45p tax rate going to be enough to fill the gap and reassure the markets? Not a hope.

The real tax rises to watch aren't those that affect people on £150k. Our attention should be on the taxes that will fall on everyone else. And I have a suspicion that to pay for what we are offered today, they will have to fall very heavily indeed. I repeat, no matter what the political passions it arouses and the economic questions it raises, do not be distracted by Labour's move to tax the rich. It's the plans to tax those who aren't rich we need to focus on today.
November 26, 2008 8:12 pm
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