Monday, March 23, 2009

Labourspace - Countering tax evasion by the super-rich

I received an email today about the new Labour movement website “Labourspace” and the campaign to make the super rich pay their fair share of taxes. The TUC reckon that tax avoidance by the Super rich costs the Exchequer around £25 billion per year.

The TUC are proposing not a higher rate for the richest, but instead a minimum tax rate to help stop the bigger abuses of tax avoidance. Our idea is to introduce a minimum tax rate of 32% for those earning over £100,000, rising to 40% for those earning over £200,000. This is really a pretty modest proposal, leaving room for genuine tax breaks, but suggesting people pay at least a fairer proportion of the tax they are due to pay”.

This has got my vote.

The concept behind Labourspace is simple but clever. Sign up and change your world in 30 seconds.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let get McNulty to pay his 60 grand back to the tax payers at the same time! I guess this 60K was "tax free" unearned income - and he's a Government Minister!! Why don't Labour try to show the way by setting an example?

Anonymous said...

Off-topic John, but any chance you could give some publicity to this:

EDM 1163

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE

That this House welcomes the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the National Minimum Wage on 1 April 2009; applauds the fact that employees in more than one million jobs have benefited, two-thirds of them women; believes that annual uprating and effective enforcement are the key to its continued success; regards the current economic climate as an opportunity to increase the spending power of the low paid; calls for an end to discriminatory lower age rates for young workers; and further calls on the Low Pay Commission and Government to end the exemption of some apprenticeships from the national minimum wage.


As of this morning it was signed by the following MPs: David Blunkett, Tony Lloyd, Dave Anderson, Jon Cruddas, Lindsay Hoyle, Andrew George and Mark Durkan.


Supporters can help by lobbying through the campaign website at www.minimumwage.org.uk

The campaign is backed by UNISON, TUC, CPAG, British Youth Council, Institute of Employment Rights, YWCA England & Wales, and NUS.

Anonymous said...

Gordon said to Wall street today ..“There is a sense that the global economy was outside these standards that we applied in our everyday lives… a world without standards is going to be a world without stability”. Shame he can't get his Government to also apply the same personal standards.

John Gray said...

Hi Anon 18.46
Many people feel the same.

Hi Martin
Nah

Hi Anon 18.18
What do you want to actually happen?

Dave said...

I'm a bit gobsmacked that you won't help publicise a mainstream UNISON campaign that aims to help the lowest paid and young workers.
What's the problem? Is it a Trot front?

John Gray said...

Hi Dave

Fair point - apologies for that comment. I've been a bit overwhelmed with comments lately and was trying to catch up last night. I think I got it confused with another point on another post. I have a celebration MW post ready for April 1st. You are quite right it is hardly a trot front.