Archive for the ‘Tax’ Category
Jim Ferguson’s concern over housing in Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
“Liberal Democrats have announced they will add VAT to new build houses. Home building industry body Homes for Scotland, whose membership provides 95% of all homes built for sale in Scotland as well as an increasingly significant proportion of affordable housing, today unsurprisingly slammed Liberal Democrat proposals to add VAT to new build homes if elected to Government and so do I.
We are in desperate need of social and “truly affordable” housing for rental with 10,000 people on the Highland Council Housing Waiting List.
Those on local average earnings have little chance of accessing mortgages since the Banking crisis.
Most work locally and need housing in the areas where they work. Spiralling petrol and diesel costs make it even more difficult for those on lower incomes who live in rural areas, hence my concern on this issue.
Members of the public have made clear their dismay over Labour Government’s failure to control immigration.
Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrat comments, recently broadcast, have incensed the electorate when stating Inverness and other areas need more migrants! Gordon Brown’s Labour “open borders” policy has been a complete failure. Massive increases in migration have resulted in overstretched Public Services. The increased cost of the Benefits System underpinning the policy could have major economic consequences.
If migrants are to be welcomed, we must ensure crucial infrastructure is in place, including jobs, education, health and housing and naturally the ability to cope with the diversity of languages involved which is particularly difficult in rural areas.
We need to develop Tourism further as it is a principal Highlands industry and vital for local economy creating crucial meaningful jobs and provide the necessary homes for these people.
We need a common sense approach to address Highlands problems.
Jim Ferguson
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Press Release 21st April 2010
Lib Dem proposal increasing cost of new homes sheer madness
Home building industry body Homes for Scotland, whose membership provides 95% of all homes built for sale in Scotland as well as an increasingly significant proportion of affordable housing, today slammed Liberal Democrat proposals to add VAT to new build homes if elected to Government.
On the day that Tavish Scott launched the party’s manifesto in Scotland, the organisation’s Chief Executive Jonathan Fair said:
“Somehow, the Liberal Democrats seem to be unaware that Scotland, not to mention the UK as a whole, is facing its worst housing crisis since the Second World War. Not only has our industry lost up to half its workforce, development is touching an all-time low and vital First Time Buyers are struggling to find deposits of up to 25%. Any measure increasing the cost of new homes, whether in the public or private sector, is sheer madness and will simply exacerbate the problems we as a country already face.”
Ends
Enquiries to:
Jennifer Kennedy, Homes for Scotland – 0131 455 8350
Notes to Editors:
Homes for Scotland (www.homesforscotland.com) represents the country’s home building industry which, prior to the onset of the credit crunch,:
- was the largest source of private investment in Scotland and the largest user of the planning system
- built 20,000 new homes, contributed £6bn to the economy and directly impacted the employment of 100,000 people (2007 figures)
Half the industry’s directly employed jobs have already been lost and Scottish new build housing output has plummeted, presenting far-reaching and long-term social and economic consequences.
Click here to read Homes for Scotland’s “building for their future” appeal to MPs as they prepare to enter the election season.
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Invitation to join the Government of Britain
The Conservative Manifesto 2010
A country is at its best when the bonds between people are strong and when the sense of national purpose is clear. Today the challenges facing Britain are immense. Our economy is overwhelmed by debt, our social fabric is frayed and our political system has betrayed the people. But these problems can be overcome if we pull together and work together. If we remember that we are all in this together.
Some politicians say: ‘give us your vote and we will sort out all your problems’. We say: real change comes not from government alone. Real change comes when the people are inspired and mobilised, when millions of us are fired up to play a part in the nation’s future.
Yes this is ambitious. Yes it is optimistic. But in the end all the Acts of Parliament, all the new measures, all the new policy initiatives, are just politicians’ words without you and your involvement.
How will we deal with the debt crisis unless we understand that we are all in this together? How will we raise responsible children unless every adult plays their part? How will we revitalise communities unless people stop asking ‘who will fix this?’ and start asking ‘what can I do?’ Britain will change for the better when we all elect to take part, to take responsibility – if we all come together. Collective strength will overpower our problems.
Only together can we can get rid of this government and, eventually, its debt. Only
Together can we get the economy moving. Only together can we protect the NHS. Improve our schools. Mend our broken society. Together we can even make politics and politicians work better. And if we can do that, we can do anything. Yes, together we can do anything.
So my invitation today is this: join us, to form a new kind of government for Britain.
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Labour Party – We’ve heard it all before and nothing changes
The Conservatives have responded to the Labour Party’s “empty” manifesto, saying “we’ve heard everything in it before”.
“We’ve had thirteen years of broken promises and nothing ever changes”, said Michael Gove, speaking alongside Liam Fox.
There have been over 100 broken promises from Labour’s 2005 manifesto. The Conservatives have called for crowdsourced responses to their 2010 manifesto to expose misleading references.
Gove said that the Conservative manifesto launched today “will reveal policies that demonstrate the energy, the leadership and the values needed to bring about change, to get our economy moving, to mend our broken society and crucially to rebuild trust in our broken political system”.
“In all these areas where urgent action is needed, Labour is either empty, silent or misleading”, he said.
Gove and Fox spoke as they published the Conservative response to the Labour Manifesto. The response questions why there is no reference to our national debt, and includes:
- Five promises they don’t know how to pay for
- Five promises they won’t be able to deliver
- Five promises they’ve broken before
- Five promises that are undermined by their own record
- Five promises they’ve stolen from us
Explaining the Conservative inititative to crowdsource responses to the manifesto, Shadow Treasury Minister Greg Hands said: “The Conservatives are today publishing Labour’s 2010 manifesto in an open and interactive format so that you can dig through the detail of Labour’s latest set of election promises”.
“It’s up to you to highlight the reannouncements, the U-turns, the stolen policies, and the re-heated pledges.”
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Conservative plan for a fuel duty stabiliser will be a welcome relief for drivers as petrol prices hit an all-time high
It was back in 2008 that George Osborne first announced Tory plans for a fuel duty stabiliser – an idea which was first proposed by Andrew Lilico.
The idea is simple: when the oil price is high, the fuel duty will be lowered, and vice versa.
And little would George Osborne have known in 2008 that the 2010 general election would be fought at a time when the price of petrol would be hitting an all-time high at £1.20 a litre – nearly £6 a gallon in “old money”.
And today’s Telegraph suggests that right now the introduction of the fuel duty stabiliser would probably see the price of petrol at the pump today being reduced by 10p a litre under the Conservative plan:
“The move will be funded from the increased taxes the Government raises from other levies on oil companies when wholesale prices rise… However, it is likely to prove controversial when oil prices fall as fuel duty will rise again.”
“The details of the scheme – including the price at which petrol will “stabilise” – will be the subject of a consultation launched soon after a Conservative election victory. It is expected to be launched within months if Mr Cameron is successful.
“Last night, a senior Conservative source said: “We are very straight with people. This is not a tax giveaway – instead it is a sensible, balanced policy that protects families from big increases in the oil price. When the oil price rockets, the tax falls and the petrol price at the pump stays stable – and vice-versa when the oil price falls.”
The public anger at the cost of petrol should not be underestimated and this policy provides another popular doorstep-ready policy for Conservatives to take to the electorate.
Jonathan Isaby
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Fuel Tax
Fuel tax is an imposed sales tax put on the sale of fuel. Frequently, fuel tax is looked upon as a source of general revenue, with some being put towards the maintenance of roads and highways.
Fuel Tax in the UK
Fuel tax in the UK is constantly changing and has risen steadily over the last 15 years. Between 1993 and 1999 there was a rapid increase with duties on fuel increasing by 3% above inflation. This was due to a major change in petrol taxation in 1993 when the Conservatives introduced the Fuel Price ‘escalator’. This was a way of the government making money and also to help protect the environment by discouraging people from using their cars.
Fuel Escalator Forces Prices Up
This fuel escalator forced prices up from one of the lowest in Europe to now one of the most expensive. When it was first added, fuel prices rose by 3 pence a litre and tax contributed to 72.8% of the total cost. By 1997 the escalator had added 11.1p to the cost of unleaded petrol and was at 75%. It didn’t get any better when the conservatives left office and Gordon Brown took over, as the escalator increased and 3 pence was added per litre. This took tax up to an incredible 81.5% of the total price of fuel.
Fuel Tax and the 2000 Fuel Protests
Despite the fuel escalator being abandoned in 1999, fuel prices did continue to rise rapidly, with a 2 pence a litre rise after the 2000 budget, contributing to the fuel protest. These rises were however argued by the government to be as a result of increasing oil costs rather than tax increases. This argument does hold some truth when we look at the graph above, showing that although the overall price of fuel has risen, the percentage of tax has stayed relatively constant and even dropped slightly this year.
In April 2005, tax on petrol and diesel were charged at 47.1 pence a litre which with VAT added also, the total taxation makes up a huge 69.9% of the price we paid for unleaded and 67.3% for diesel.
British drivers pay two taxes on petrol they buy at the pump and fuel campaigners complain about the fact that VAT is charged on the cost of fuel and the duty and feel it should only be calculated on the cost of the fuel for a fairer petrol price.
Duty on fuel in the UK increased again on 1 October 2007, with an increase of 2.00 pence a litre on unleaded and diesel and an even greater increase on LPG and natural gas. See the fuel duty for all fuels below:
2007 Fuel Tax Figures
2007 fuel duty (as of 1 October 2007) in the United Kingdom was:
- 50.35 pence per litre for ultra-low sulphur unleaded petrol/diesel
- 53.65 pence per litre for conventional unleaded petrol
- 56.94 pence per litre for conventional diesel
- 30.35 pence per litre for bio-diesel and bio ethanol – low tax to encourage consumer conversion
- 16.49 pence per kg for gas other than natural gas (LPG)
- 13.70 pence per kg for natural gas used as road fuel.
- 9.69 pence per litre for rebated gas oil (red diesel)
- 9.29 pence per litre for rebated fuel oil
As of 1 October 2007 effective rates of duty for non-road fuels increased by 2 ppl. These rates are set to be increased by the same percentage as the main road fuels on 1 April 2008 and again on 1 April 2009.
From 1 October 2007 duty rates for unleaded petrol, leaded petrol, aviation gasoline and other heavy oil used as road fuel were increased by the same percentage as the main road fuels.
2009 Fuel Tax Figures
2009 fuel duty (as of 1 September 2009) in the United Kingdom is:
- 56.19 pence per litre for main road fuels, unleaded petrol and diesel
- 65.91 pence per litre for leaded petrol
- 36.19 pence per litre for biodiesel and bioethanol
- 22.16 pence per kg for road fuel natural gas
- 27.67 pence per kg for road fuel liquefied petroleum gas (‘LPG’)
On 1 December 2008 a permanent 2p increase in fuel tax was introduced to offset the rate cut in VAT from 17.5% to 15% bringing the duty rate for the main road fuels up to 52.35p per litre.
On 1 April 2009 the duty rate for unleaded petrol and diesel was icreased by 1.84 ppl to 54.19p per litre and again on 1 September 2009 by 2 ppl to reach the current level of 56.19 per litre. These rates will be increased further on 1 April 2010 to 2013 by 1ppl above indexation each year.
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Liberal Democrat VAT bombshell explodes in Vince Cable’s face
Earlier in the week the Liberal Democrats launched a poster, warning of a VAT bombshell if the Conservatives won. Cross-examined by BBC1′s Politics Show today the Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokesman admitted that the idea of a £389 bombshell was conjecture and conceded that he couldn’t rule out a hike in VAT. Transcript below.
JON SOPEL: I mean let’s leave aside whether or whether not there is a black hole in the Tories’ finances. Leave that to one side. You don’t know factually, that they are going to raise VAT. That is your conjecture.
VINCE CABLE: It is a conjecture and it’s a reasonable assumption and I wouldn’t claim anymore than that.
JON SOPEL: And that £389 is a rough figure plucked –
VINCE CABLE: It’s a ball park estimate of what it would require in order to fill that gap, and it seems a reasonable way of expressing that argument.”
…
JON SOPEL: Would you rule out raising VAT?
VINCE CABLE: No, I don’t. It’s something –
JON SOPEL: So therefore your position is no different to them.”
Well done Mr Sopel. Vince Cable is a serial flip-flopper.
Tim Montgomerie
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Conservatives will Recognise marriage in the tax system
A Conservative Government will introduce a recognition of marriage and civil partnerships in the tax system.
“This is sending a signal that we understanding the value of commitment”, said David Willetts.
“Britain is unique in the raw deal one earner couples get”, he added. Most European countries recognise marriage in the tax system.
The proposed recognition will take the form of a partially transferable personal allowance for all married couples and civil partnerships.
- One member of an eligible couple will be able to transfer £750 of their tax free personal allowance to their partner in order to reduce their partner’s income tax bill. This will be limited to basic rate taxpayers and is therefore worth up to £150 a year per couple at the 20% rate of tax. In 1999, its final year before it was abolished for all but pensioner couples, the Married Couples Allowance was worth £197 per couple per year.
- The additional transferable allowance will be tapered away at incomes above £42,500 so that no higher rate taxpayer earning £44,000 or more will benefit.
- Eligible couples where one partner is not using all of their tax free personal allowance and the other earns between £6,600 and £44,000 will be up to £150 a year better off.
- The full benefit of £150 goes to eligible couples where the main earner earns between £7,300 and £42,500.
The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies estimate that this will cost about £550 million. This will be paid for using some of the revenues from a levy on banks that will raise more than £1 billion. The remaining revenues will be used to reduce the deficit.
This is a progressive tax measure, with two thirds of the benefits going to families in the lower half of the income distribution. The biggest gains as a percentage of income go to households in the third decile of the income distribution. 4 million out of a total 12.3 million married couples will benefit.
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Britain: Billions of pounds in the Red thanks to Labour – Annabel Goldie MSP
Annabel Goldie MSP, Scottish Conservative Leader, says:
“Labour’s mismanagement of Britain’s economy has been catastrophic. Debt interest payments alone will soon reach £60 billion, twice the entire amount spent on Scotland’s health service, schools, police, roads and local services every year.
“Scotland’s share of Labour’s debt mountain is an estimated £72 billion. We need a government with a credible plan and the political resolve to put Britain back in the black. The risk of 5 more years of Labour is more waste, higher tax, a worse credit rating, higher interest rates and higher mortgages. Britain is billions of pounds in the red as a result of Labour’s mismanagement of the economy.
“In Scotland, the Conservatives have helped tens of thousands of businesses weather the worst of Labour’s economic storm by ensuring business rates were cut or abolished, a move which the Federation of Small Businesses says has prevented 1 in 8 small firms from going bust.
“We have to deliver that kind of real help right across the United Kingdom.
“That is why a Conservative Government would scrap Labour’s tax on jobs, get credit flowing again, protect and create jobs to boost the recovery, and get to grips with Labour’s debt. Dither and delay would risk the recovery, not help it. The time has come for action, and for change.”
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Captains of Industry and Business Leaders are Backing the Conservatives UK
Top Business Leaders Back Tories On Tax
9:42am UK, Thursday April 01, 2010
Ruth Barnett, Sky News Online
A group of business leaders have written a letter backing the Conservatives’ proposal to halt a planned rise in National Insurance.
David Cameron described it as a “very important moment in the election campaign”.
The executive chairman of Marks and Spencers, Sir Stuart Rose, and easyJet entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou are among the 23 people to have signed the letter, which is published in the Daily Telegraph.
The signatories employ around half a million workers between them.
They agree with shadow chancellor George Osborne that increasing NI by 1p next April, as Labour plans to do, is bad news for the economy.
“The Government’s proposal to increase national insurance, placing an additional tax on jobs, comes at exactly the wrong time in the economic cycle,” the letter says.
The Labour Party feel that the Conservatives’ plan has not been properly costed and not properly thought through.
Sky’s political correspondent Joey Jones
“In a personal capacity, we welcome George Osborne’s plan to stop the proposed increase in national insurance by cutting Government waste.”
Mr Cameron told BBC Breakfast: “These household names – people like Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Mothercare – are saying that Labour’s plans to put up National Insurance contributions are the biggest threat to the recovery.
“They are saying there is no threat to the recovery from cutting waste in 2010 but there is a threat to the recovery from putting up National Insurance contributions.
“Labour have said the whole thing is that we can secure the recovery. Well, today that plank of their whole approach has been removed.”
Chancellor Alistair Darling pledged to introduce the rise as a way of paying off some of the nation’s debts.
But Mr Osborne said he would axe the increase for people earning less than £45,000 if his party wins power at the next election. He said he would pay for this by finding efficiency savings worth £12bn.
Mr Darling counters that Mr Osborne’s policy is at odds with the Conservatives’ claim they would cut the deficit sooner and deeper than the Government plans.
Treasury Chief Secretary Liam Byrne said the Conservatives were not able to fund their promise on NI.
“No business goes to its shareholders with unfunded promises – but that’s exactly what the Tories are doing,” he said.
The captains of industry and top business leaders are fully aware of the failure of this Labour Government. They are giving their full backing to the Conservatives, because they know we have the experience and common sense, to get rid of Labour’s crippling debt, but not at the expense of putting more businesses out of action, or risking the creation of new jobs.
Members of the public whose jobs are hanging by a thread need to take note and ensure their vote is for the Conservatives. Another term of Labour could spell disaster for them and everyone else in the United Kingdom.
Jim Ferguson
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Conservatives to offer real help for small business UK
I am pleased to see some real help being promised for small business. Its encouraging that small business is being recognised for the part it plays by the Conservatives who understand the importance of the fact that we are a nation of traders and that small business accounts for 80% of the revenue raised.
Jim Ferguson
Conservative tax reform to aid self employed
Wednesday, March 31 2010
Mark Prisk, the Shadow Business Minister, has announced that a Conservative Government would undertake a full and fundamental review of small business taxation, including IR35.
The aim will be to provide a simpler, clearer and lasting tax regime, so businesses can plan with confidence.
“For the last 13 years, Labour have constantly meddled with the tax rules for freelancers and self-employed, Prisk said. “IR35 has especially proved to over-complex, uncertain and often unfair”.
IR35 has cost business £73 million over 10 years but it has barely raised revenue for the Treasury. Prisk criticised Gordon Brown for making it harder to be self-employed at a time when Britain should be open for business.
“This is why a Conservative Government would mandate the independent Office of Tax Simplification to undertake a fundamental review of current arrangements with the aim of providing a clearer, lasting and fairer tax regime”.
This announcement is in addition to previous plesges to simplify the tax system, cut Corporation Tax for small firms, and make small business rate relief automatic.
“Small businesses cannot afford 5 more years of Gordon Brown”, Prisk added. “Only the Conservatives have the energy and the ideas to get Britain working by boosting enterprise”.
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