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Simon Hughes MPRepresenting Southwark and Bermondsey since 1983 |
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Liberal Democrats deliver on tax commitment
April 21, 2012 11:06 AM
This week the Commons had its first chance to debate and vote on the details of the Finance( No 4) Bill, the legislation which implements the Budget announced last month. The part of this legislation which affects the largest number of people most is a further rise in the tax threshold. This will give over 100,000 low and middle earners in Southwark a tax cut and take around 8,000 more low income Southwark individuals out of paying tax altogether - and deliver a commitment which Liberal Democrats have been campaigning on for years.
Commenting, Simon Hughes MP said "this is the biggest ever increase in the tax threshold. Since the general election when the annual personal tax allowance was £6475, we increased it to £7475 for 2011-12, then last year we voted to increase it to over £8105 this month, and the threshold will now go up to £9205 in April next year. We then want it to rise as quickly after that to £10,000.
Disappointingly, when Parliament debated and voted on this progressive policy, which will do so much to make work pay and improve the incomes of people on low and middle incomes, the Labour party voted against the change."