UK Libertarian Party calls for the abolition of personal income tax. |
| Posted by Administrator on Mar 03 2008 |
| Press Releases >> Press Release |
The UK Libertarian Party has started the new year with a call to scrap personal income tax.
Party Leader, Patrick Vessey, said, "Income Tax raised £143 billion in 2006/07, about one quarter of the £534 billion spent by government last year.
"But savings on unnecessary spending could easily be found: for example, current annual spending on Britain's hundreds of unaccountable QUANGOs—including such patent time-wasters as the British Potato Council, the Milk Development Council and the Wine Standards Board—is running at around £175 billion.
"The Libertarian Party believes that the tax burden should be substantially reduced, and that those taxes that remain should be levied on spending, not on income. This policy will reward those—especially the poorest—who spend within their means and who save for their future."
The Party's Director of Communications, Chris Mounsey, added, “This may seem like pie-in-the-sky but, in 2001/02, the government spent £378 billion. Were we to return to those spending levels, we could abolish personal income tax and still have £13 billion left over—sufficient also to abolish, at current revenue levels, Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax, and duty on beer and wine.
“The people of Britain are beginning to understand that simply throwing money at public services doesn't work. The Libertarian Party is dedicated to allowing every person in this country to choose how their hard-earned money is spent – and the best way in which to do that is not to steal it from them in the first place.”
The Libertarian Party's pledge to scrap personal income tax is the first policy to emerge from the new party's discussions, and will form part of a radical manifesto to be released later in the year.
Notes for editors
- The Libertarian Party was founded on 21 November 2007 and officially launched on 1 January 2008. The party has to date concentrated on building support amongst UK political bloggers; this is the party's first foray into the wider world. The party's website can be found here, and fuller details of this proposal are available here.
- Libertarianism is a political philosophy based on support for individual liberty.
- Libertarianism is a broad church, but the UK Libertarian Party is broadly minarchist in outlook.
- Government spending figures can be found here [Excel file].
- Income Tax was first introduced in 1799, at a starting rate of less than 1%, by William Pitt the Younger, in order to buy weapons and materiel to fight the Napoleonic Wars. A brief history of the tax can be found at HMRC.
- The QUANGO database
- The Essential Guide to British QUANGOs 2005.
Issued by Chris Mounsey, Director of Communications, on behalf of the UK Libertarian Party—enquiries.
Last changed: Mar 15 2008 at 11:00 PM
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