Tory top-job contender tax plans

Please tell me the ones who have suggested anything not covered here!

1. Sajid Javid:

“My priority will always be to cut the basic rate of tax. But if cutting top rate means more revenue, like what happened last time it was cut, that means more nurses, police, I would cut it if it gives us brings in more revenue and bigger public services.”

It comes after he told the Sunday Telegraph he would be willing to cut the top rate of tax from 45p for the highest earners to inject more “dynamism” into the economy.

Nice bit of double think there, cutting the basic rate is his ‘priority’, but first he’s going to reduce the 45% additional rate to the normal 40% higher rate. Half a mark, I guess.

2. Jeremy Hunt:

Jeremy Hunt has praised Donald Trump’s economic record and suggested he could introduce similar tax cuts for business if he becomes prime minister.

The foreign secretary, who is one of 12 candidates standing to succeed Theresa May, said the US president had delivered “double the GDP growth that we have” and said we would want to “look at” the Republican’s policy of “big business cuts in tax”.

Epic fail, the Trump tax cuts were super-regressive and will simply lead to higher deficits to bugger up the next Democrat president. Let’s also contrast this with what he was saying a year ago when he was still Health Secretary:

People are willing to pay higher taxes to fund the NHS, Jeremy Hunt has said, amid an ongoing row among senior ministers over how to secure the future of the health service.

The health secretary said the public was open to the idea of tax hikes to pay for healthcare “provided they can see that it is not being wasted”, after a major report said the NHS would need £2,000 from every household to stay afloat.

3. Michael Gove:

“My economic plan is driven by the need to increase investment, productivity and wages across the country, with a special focus on helping those areas and regions where productivity is lower,” he wrote.

“It would mean reducing the regulations which hold business back, cutting and reforming taxes – such as business rates – which put pressure on small businesses and undermine our high streets, using the opportunity of life outside the EU to look to replace VAT with a lower, simpler, sales tax,” he added.

So the usual special pleading for owners of high street premises, boo, but at least he’s mentioned the possibility of scrapping VAT. A sales tax would have pretty much the same damaging economic effects as VAT, but if handled correctly, could at least be neutral (or a bit more neutral than VAT) and a lot simpler to calculate and pay. Basically, all business-to-business supplies might as well be exempt, only the retailer/final seller needs to pay it over.

4. Sam Gyimah:

That’s why today I am pledging to abolish Britain’s five worst taxes – the taxes that do the most damage for the money they raise, and whose abolition will get us the most bang for our buck. I would:

* Make the Annual Investment Allowance unlimited.
* Index the tax thresholds to inflation – permanently.
* Replace business rates with a commercial land tax.
* Eliminate the personal allowance withdrawal for higher earners.
* Move towards abolishing stamp duty for homes under £1 million.

Clearly the best of the bunch.

‘Commercial Land Tax’ sounds a lot like LVT, there is so much we could sweep up into this besides Business Rates (SDLT on commercial premises, planning fees etc).

Before we think about reducing the 45% additional rate to 40% (Javid’s suggestion), the really stupid thing that Brown/Darling introduced is the effective 60% rate for incomes between £100,000 and £125,000 (or £100,000 + twice the annual personal allowance), so well spotted Mr Gyimah!

If we could nudge him towards rejigging Council Tax in exchange for getting rid of SDLT (get rid of it entirely, stupid tax), then so much the better.

5. Andrea Leadsom:

The first cuts we need to make are to swearing.

F*** off.

6. Rory Stewart:

The international development secretary — an outsider in the race to succeed Theresa May — said he won’t make spending promises the U.K. can’t afford. Candidates who do so would put the country’s reputation for economic stability and competence at risk, Stewart said in a statement to Bloomberg on Wednesday.

“Candidates cannot on the one hand attack Jeremy Corbyn for fiscal irresponsibility and at the same time make unfunded promises,” Stewart said, referring to the opposition Labour Party leader. Some rivals’ plans are incompatible with the economic fallout from leaving the European Union without an agreement on Oct. 31, which they are also advocating, he said.

Fair point, but not very specific about what his plans are, if any.