12/03/08 - Darling Kicks Swindon's Families When They're Down

Darling kicks Swindon’s families when they’re down 

Commenting on yesterday’s budget, Cllr Justin Tomlinson, Prospective MP - Swindon North said:

“This is a bad news Budget. Alistair Darling is kicking local middle income families when they are down.

• This Budget is about bashing the smoker, the drinker, the motorist and the people on modest or average incomes.”

• This is a bad news Budget that adds £110 a year to the tax bill for every family.

• Taxes and borrowing are up because the Government failed to use the good years to prepare for the bad years. Other countries are cutting taxes.

• Because the Government has no room for manoeuvre, they are kicking families when they’re down.  

New taxes announced in the budget include over the next three years:

• £1.5bn extra on all alcoholic drinks, hitting 43 million people. £1.6bn extra on drivers, even with the delayed fuel tax rise £1.7bn extra on businesses

• The tax take will be £2.8bn a year higher by 2010, that’s £110 for every family. If benefits are excluded, the tax take will be £4bn higher.

• Even with these new taxes, borrowing is up by £20bn over next four years, including a £7bn rise next year alone. Borrowing figures confirmed today that after fifteen years of global growth we have the worst deficit in the developed world.