Conservatives expose LibDems' tax sting for Haringey residents 28/09/04

William MacDougall exposes local LibDem 'tax sting' - Conservatives call for fairer deal from Whitehall not new taxes.

MacDougall, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Tottenham, this week
attacked proposals by the Liberal Democrats for a barrage of new taxes on
local residents across Haringey and warned that the level of tax would be a
key issue in the forthcoming general election campaign in Haringey, expected
next year.

As the Liberal Democrats left their annual party conference in Bournemouth,
it has been revealed that their official party policies feature over 40 new
tax levies, including:

a.. A local income tax which could cost a typical working family in
Haringey over £1,800.

b.. A regional income tax to bankroll the Greater London Assembly.

c.. A 'dog tax' by introducing expensive new dog licences.

d.. A double whammy inheritance tax, through extension of capital gains
tax on death.

e.. A plastic bags tax which could cost a typical family almost £80 a year
alone.

f.. Workplace parking taxes - £150 a year to park at work.

g.. VAT on new homes - adding £11,000 to the cost of buying a new home.

MacDougall explained,

"The soaring level of tax will be in the key issue in the forthcoming general election. I strongly believe that Haringey deserves a better deal from Whitehall and that people are fed up with the backdoor taxes introduced by this Labour Government. But Liberal Democrats' plans to sting local  residents to drive, to walk their dog, to shop, to work - and even to die - are not the answer."

Notes to Editors

The full dossier outlining the Liberal Democrats' plans for new taxes is
available online at:

http://www.conservatives.com/pdf/TheLibDemTaxSting.pdf (PDF file)

Cost of LibDem local income tax for a typical working family:

Below, we have calculated the local income tax rate that would have to be
charged to raise the same amount of money as council tax currently does,
assuming an average rate of local income tax of 3.8%. The total tax bill for
an average couple is then calculated (assuming 2004-05 tax system, with one
man and one woman each on estimated average full time earnings for 2004-05,
of £29,890 a year and £21,635 a year respectively).

Authority    Average CT     LIT % rate    Total LIT   Net extra tax

English av.       £967                3.8            £1,597       +£630
Enfield          £1,117                4.4            £1,846        +£728
Haringey       £1,098                4.3            £1,813        +£715
Islington        £1,016                4.0            £1,678        +£662

(Data sources: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Scottish Executive &
Welsh Assembly).

'Average council tax' is the average bill actually paid in practice for an
average household in the local authority area (it is different from the 'average Band D council tax' which is the benchmark used to compare the level of council tax after funding from central government).

ENDS.