Fair taxes at the heart of Liberal Democrat message

9.26.00am GMT Tue 1st Dec 2009

Nick Clegg MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, says those with the broadest shoulders should bear more of the tax burden

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg MP yesterday put fair taxes at the heart of the party's message to the British people. The party's new tax plans will see tax cuts for millions of people, paid for by closing tax loopholes, making polluters pay and introducing a 'mansion tax' on homes worth over £2m.

Nick Clegg said: "If you want to know how committed a government is to fairness then look at its tax system. Gordon Brown has created a tax regime that forces some of the lowest earners in society to pay hundreds of pounds in tax they can't afford, while polluters and rich tax dodgers avoid paying their fair share. Meanwhile the Conservatives want tax cuts for millionaires, but say there might be tax rises for everyone else.

"Under our plans people won't pay a penny on the first ten thousand pounds they earn. That would put £700 back in the pockets of the vast majority of taxpayers, and take millions of people on low pay out of paying income tax altogether. Our plans represent the most radical, far-reaching tax reform in a generation. They embody everything the Liberal Democrats stand for: fairness, protecting the environment, rewarding hard work. It is right to ask those with the broadest shoulders to bear a little more of the burden so that millions of people on normal earnings get the break they desperately need."

For more detail on the Lib Dems' tax plans, visit:

http://www.libdems.org.uk/latest_news_detail.aspx?title=Fair_taxes_at_the_heart_of_Liberal_Democrat_message_&pPK=799f14f0-5b51-4d92-89b8-206c615b33bb