Douglas Carswell's Blog

A pocket money society?

According to Allister Heath over at City AM, five million people will soon be paying 40p tax. This top rate now kicks on earning of over �41,450 - which is pretty close to the �37,000 average full-time male earnings.

Add in National Insurance, and when that army of folk trying to do the right thing goes out to work each morning, they do so knowing that for every �1 they earn, 42p goes straight to the government.

Worse, phasing out child benefit, Allister points out, will mean some families with one child earning over �50,000 will face a further 11p marginal tax rate on top. It would be even higher for those with two or three kids.

What was it a Tory strategist once said about government only leaving people with pocket money?

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