A new poll shows that just 25% of voters support the abolition of the 50p tax rate. Danny Alexander is on the right side of the argument.
A new poll shows that just 25 per cent of voters – including only a third of Tory voters – would support the abolition of the 50p tax rate. The findings suggest that Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, is on the right side of the debate in dismissing his Tory colleagues as living in “cloud cuckoo land“.
The YouGov poll for the Sunday Times found that just 25 per cent of voters supported a policy to scrap the 50p higher rate of income tax. Even fewer voters – just 21 per cent – thought that the policy would boost growth. As the graph below shows clear majorities of supporters for all major political parties oppose the move.
In recent weeks, senior Tory politicians have called for the policy – introduced by Alistair Darling – to be scrapped. Last week London mayor, Boris Johnson, said that abolition of the 50p rate would be “a signal that London is open for business … That’s the right direction to be going in“. Former Conservative chancellor, Lord Lamont, used an article in the Sunday Telegraph to write:
“Lower taxes are important. Our taxes are uncompetitive and too high compared with other European countries. The fifty per cent higher rate of income tax is probably one tax which could be abolished without any effect on revenue.”
Last week the Financial Times reported that Mark Field, Tory MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, had urged the Chancellor to “look at a big iconic move” such as scrapping the 50p top rate of tax, accompanied by an acceleration of the plan to take the lowest paid out of the tax system. Meanwhile a host of commentators including Spectator Editor, Fraser Nelson, have called for George Osborne to scrap the tax.
The Treasury appears to be split on the issue with George Osborne reported to be in favour of scrapping the tax by 2013 while Danny Alexander said yesterday that those who supported the right-wing policy were living in “cloud cuckoo land“.
35 Responses to “Only quarter of voters want to scrap 50p tax”
Selohesra
@ Leon #4 – as usual you are misinterpreting what I was saying. The point of my comment was that there is nothing remarkable in the survey, the article or the headline. Everyone (well most sane people anyway) knows that some action is required to reduce the deficit – there is popular support for some action to be taken – where everyone falls out is where that action is taken since as soon as someones job or local services is affected they wail that cuts should be made elsewhere. Similarly with tax rises – that there is this apparant support for the 50% tax rate may have some small link to the fact that a lot of the people who are in favour of it will not actually be paying any themselves. Its a version of nimby-ism and demomstrates that most people think of themselves first and thoughts of the greater good come a distant second.
George McLean
@ 12. Leon Wolfson
I don’t agree about LVT. The probelm with council tax and similar property-based taxes is that they act as deadweights on the beneficial social use of land, whereas LVT would encourage speculators to develop the land (as permitted in a local plan) appropriately – and most importantly as accommodation. Of course, my (and your?) call for a fairer income tax is deadweight too, but until a tax sych as LVT is up and running, and we can judge at what level it would be imposed, then I think we are all stuck with income tax. The fundamental problem seems to be an unfair distribution of the fruits of labour.
Leon Wolfson
@14 – Then be more careful with your comments. Except, you then call it NIMBYism and make it plain that I was entirely right, and you FULLY believe that people not paying a tax should have no say in it. You’re not doing a good job convincing me you’re someone who can have a rational debate…
No, it’s ENTIRELY appropriate for everyone in a society to be able to comment on the structure of the tax system, and how progressive or otherwise it is. You are STILL advocating supply-side and trickle-down, so badly discredited that even far-right economists wince when they’re talked about.
@15 – Well, how are going to deal with the problem of it raising rents dramatically for those previous exempt to council tax (under a Tory government, no less)? This isn’t a small issue, people like students would end up paying dramatically more, which would exclude even more from studying, or bump up loans…the most vulnerable (claiming council tax benefit) would be hit, etc.
Note, a scheme where the landlord needs to apply for anything means that the landlord must be cooperative, and know many personal details about his tenants. Given the widespread discrimination against unemmployed and student renters…
Not to mention that it’d destroy farm profits (a food security issue)
And the issue with it making living above a shop unaffordable in most LVT-proposals I’ve seen
And the way it encourages overcrowding and HMO’s
And…
More, you can’t judge the right rate AFTER it’s up, getting it wrong will cause massive social issues and homelessness. If you want me to support a LVT, I need to see a paper addressing all these and more, and none of them come even close, most don’t even address ONE of them. Not to mention the fact it’s usually pitched as revenue-positive, and will hammer cities if so.
Until then, I’m sticking with supporting a tax on unearned property, and keeping the current system otherwise (gradualism, yes, but it is part of the core of mutualism)
And I disagree, the fruits of labour specifically ISN’T the problem. The problem is that unearned income, which is NOT the “fruit of labour” of that person! Let’s start, as I said, by taxing unearned income at – at least – the same level as earned income. This closes a large number of tax dodges, for starters…
Jon Purdom/Paco Saez
Only quarter of voters want to scrap 50p tax reports @wdjstraw http://bit.ly/qtHOb8
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