The news and blogs are, quite rightly, all over the VAT bombshell poster that the Lib Dems deployed during the election campaign but have now come full circle on by backing Osborne's 'emergency' budget. It's behaviour that someone with even a passing interest in politics would know is typical from the Lib Dems.
That said, one can't be too harsh. Labour would have pushed up VAT too despite their howls of anguish and Nick Clegg isn't running a majority Government here, he's not going to like every output from the coalition and he did score a massive win with the changes to income tax that will remove many from paying it altogether.
However, the delivery of this manifesto commitment obscures another bit of, let's say, jiggery pokery.
In the Lib Dem manifesto it was claimed that this policy would be mostly paid for by a mansion tax and a crackdown on tax evasion.
I thought at the time that the Lib Dem sums didn't add up and it seems George Osborne agreed. If closing gaps in the tax system could reap billions of pounds a year then the Chancellor would have announced so yesterday.
So from VAT to cracking down on tax dodgers, the Lib Dem evasiveness lives on.
3 comments:
plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose
Jeff one of the main reasons that Osborne didn't go for closing down the loopholes on tax evaders is because it would be a budget announcement against Tory doners. If there is one idealogical element in this budget it is the fact that the Tories didn't take more action on that line from the Lib Dem manifesto.
Interesting suggestion Stephen. It seems far-fetched and more in keeping with the Tory caricature than real life but a valid and worthy retort.
I still think it's ludicrous to suggest that you can tighten up the system and consistently realise an extra ~£7bn a year as your party suggested.
And how comfortable are you Stephen with where the money is being raised from for this policy if it's not the tax loophole and mansion tax sources that you wanted?
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