The Fairer Tax Campaign (FTC) is a not-for-profit and non-partisan project that supports national income tax reform. We are in favour of enhancing progressive taxation and wealth redistribution. The aforementioned objectives are more important than our proposed policy changes. We canvassed politicians running for parliament (prior to the 2010 General Election) for their views on the matter, with progressive replies uploaded on to our blog. This was done in-order to transparently document the politicians' stances. In effect, we attempted to promote debate of an important issue, while also keeping the public informed. 177 politicians (including 104 endorsements) from 17 different political parties sent us progressive responses - supporting our ideas in principle, part or whole. 11 were duly elected to parliament.
Our motto:
"The rich should pay more and the poor should pay less".
We believe that Britain needs to become collectively fairer. The gap between the rich and the poor has continued to grow for decades, which has only served to create a divided society. This is unacceptable for a developed country with one of the largest economies in the world. More needs to be done to tackle the aforementioned disparity. Fairer income tax is part of the solution.
We propose that that the tax free personal allowance threshold be raised to £10,000 for anyone earning less than £18,000 a year. This will be subsidised by reducing the threshold for the 50% tax rate from £150,000 to £100,000. It will ensure that the rich pay more and the poor pay less.
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As it stands (2010-2011):
Basic Rate: £0-£37,400 (20%)
High Rate: £37,401-£150,000 (40%)
Additional Rate: Over £150,000 (50%)
This includes a tax free personal allowance of £6,475 for all income up to £100,000.
Our proposed changes (2011-2012 onwards):
i) Additional Rate: Over £100,000 (50%)
ii) A tax free personal allowance of £10,000 for anyone earning up to £17,999 a year*. The allowance level will remain at £6,475 for those that earn between £18,000 and £100,000.
*Please note - a minor tax gap anomaly will arise for those that earn £18,000 to £18,880. We propose that this can be covered by offering a tax rebate (in part or whole) to anyone that falls into the aforementioned band. Compared to the status quo, those that earn less than £18,000 will be far better off as a direct result of our changes, in terms of paying less tax. Thus, millions of people on lower incomes will benefit from the changes that we propose.
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Together we can bring change for a fairer Britain.
