The leader of the UK Libertarian Party today branded the ongoing debate in Westminster over the abolition of the 10p income tax band as "intellectual necrophilia".

"As usual, petty point-scoring by the major political parties is providing a smokescreen behind which they can hide, rather than address the genuine plight of the poor and needy in our society" said Patrick Vessey. He continued: "the issue shouldn't be where our political class decides to set the poverty and welfare traps, but why a prosperous nation like our own should seek to ensnare its citizens in this way at all."

Mr Vessey explained that "a truly progressive tax regime would be one that didn't penalise people who were simply working to better themselves and the lot of their family. The only fair tax system would be one based upon a genuine ability to pay—and that means raising tax revenue from the sales of non-essential goods. Nobody should be forced to hand over their earnings to the state, and simply receive a 'living allowance' in return, and nobody should be forced to pay tax on essential goods like fresh food. The only way to bring honesty back into the personal tax system would be to solely raise revenue via taxes on luxury items, as the Libertarian Party proposes."

The Libertarian Party UK is pleased to see that contained within part 1 of the Draft Constitutional Bill are plans to repeal sections 123 to 138 of the Serious Organised Crime Act 2005; namely, those affecting freedom of speech and freedom of assembly around Parliament Square.

Part 6 however, gives grave cause for concern, in that it allows for ministers to amend, repeal or revoke any provision by or an Act. The Libertarian Party UK is appalled that the government should seek to bypass parliament again following amendments that were built into the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 that raised similar concerns.

Head of Communications, Chris Mounsey, said, "Part 6 opens the door to rule by Ministerial fiat. If MPs vote this Bill through, they will be voting for the abolition of what little power they have left.

"Truly, Parliament will become nothing more than a talking shop, whilst ministers will sign off legislation without having to consult or debate with anyone.

"This Bill will transform the UK from a democracy to a dictatorship."

The UK Libertarian Party stated that it was utterly opposed to putting “potential criminals” on the DNA database, as has been suggested by Gary Pugh, director of forensic sciences at Scotland Yard.

Party Leader, Patrick Vessey, said, “The suggestion by Gary Pugh that we should weed out potentially criminal primary school children on the DNA database is absolutely repulsive.

“This country already has 4.5 million DNA samples in its database, the largest in Europe.

“The idea that you can take pre-emptive action against potential criminals is utterly flawed and deeply suspect. As is any state wherein the police are making policy.

“Minority Report was a dystopian vision of a near-fascist society, not an instruction manual.”

The UK Libertarian Party believes that recent events support its call for personal income tax to be scrapped.

This week, on the weblog of respected economic think-tank, the Adam Smith Institute, Dr Eamonn Butler wrote that, “If the government sector had grown only in line with inflation, rather than far above it, taxpayers would be £200 billion better off – enough to abolish income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax.”

Party Leader, Patrick Vessey, said, “Dr Butler's comment clearly shows that the UK Libertarian Party is not the only organisation thinking in terms of total abolition of certain taxes.

“Dr Butler has simply described how easy it would have been to abolish these taxes had Labour not been so profligate.”

The Party's Director of Communications, Chris Mounsey, added, “This week we learnt that HMRC wrongly forced a London taxi driver into bankruptcy over a debt of 88p. This was because HMRC lost track of his paperwork and took him to court for £12,000 that he did not owe.

“Last year, a Cumbrian builder, Neil Martin, was left facing a tax bill of £250,000, and bankruptcy, because HMRC lost yet more paperwork.

“Almost unbelievably, the judge in the latter case ruled, according to one broadsheet, that 'the taxman is not liable for his mistakes even when he seriously disadvantages customers.' This is outrageous.

“These were personal tragedies caused by the incompetence and vindictiveness of HMRC. Neither would have occurred had the Libertarian Party been in power: we would scrap income tax entirely.”

The Libertarian Party's pledge to scrap personal income tax was announced on the 3rd of March and is the first policy to emerge from the new party's manifesto discussions.

The UK Libertarian Party today condemned the Labour government's proposals to introduce ID cards through a “soft sell”.

Party Leader, Patrick Vessey, said, “Both ID cards and the accompanying database fundamentally change the relationship between individuals and the state.

“The Libertarian Party is utterly opposed to this cataloguing of the people of Britain.

“In a truly free society, and provided that they harm nobody else by doing so, every person should be able to go where they like, and call themselves what they like, without having to beg permission of anyone else.

“Instead, the Labour government feels justified in tagging and labelling us as though we were mere livestock – bovine automata to be herded and tracked at our masters' convenience.”

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...