“People on benefits wouldn't benefit at all from the personal tax allowance because they wouldn't be paying any tax."
The leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage has had a meltdown on Good Morning Britain earlier today, after presenter Ed Balls challenged him over who benefited most from this party’s ‘radical’ tax plans.
Reform set out their manifesto yesterday, which economists and analysts took apart for being out of touch with reality. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have said the sums just don’t add up and the tax cut costings are in fact out by ‘tens of billions of pounds per year’.
Responding to Reform’s pledges, Carl Emmerson, deputy director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said: “Regardless of the pros and cons of shrinking the state, or of any of their specific measures, the package as a whole is problematic.
“Spending reductions would save less than stated, and the tax cuts would cost more than stated, by a margin of tens of billions of pounds per year. Meanwhile the spending increases would cost more than stated if they are to achieve their objectives.”
Among Reform’s proposals is a pledge to increase the income tax personal allowance to £20,000.
Balls challenged Farage over his party’s tax plans and asked: “Who would gain most from your personal tax proposal? Somebody on the minimum wage, somebody on average earnings, or somebody on £95,000 a year?”
Farage replied: “People on benefits would gain the most because actually their whole lives would be transformed by making work pay.”
Balls interrupted and said: “People on benefits wouldn’t benefit at all from the personal tax allowance because they wouldn’t be paying any tax.”
He added: “Facts are important here. The person who would benefit most from your personal tax proposal is someone who earns £95,000. They would gain far more than somebody on average earnings, who would gain much more than somebody on the minimum wage. Did you not know that?”
Farage however insisted that his proposals were correct “on percentage terms”. However, this was shot down by Mr Balls, who said: “That’s not right.
“Somebody on the minimum wage would gain less, absolutely and proportionally, than somebody on average earnings or on £95,000. Your tax proposals help people who are richer rather than poorer.”
A rather frustrated Farage replied: “This is so typical.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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