Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream

Our guest writers are Tim Horton, research director of the Fabian Society and Howard Reed of Landman Economics

Has anyone noticed how the Lib Dems’ catchy proposal to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000 has very quietly changed? Back in the old days – when the Libs were a progressive party of the left - the proposal was for a ‘tax switch’, taking £17 billion off the super-rich (highly progressive) to fund the cut in income tax (itself highly regressive).

David-Cameron-Nick-Clegg But now it’s just become the tax cut. The Lib Dems have agreed to drop many of the progressive measures to pay for it, such as a mansion tax and scrapping higher-rate pension relief. And it looks instead as if the revenue will come mainly from public spending cuts – making the overall effect even more regressive.

If delivered, it could usher in perhaps the biggest increase in income inequality in the UK of any single policy since Nigel Lawson’s 1988 tax-cutting budget.

Perhaps most concerning, though, is that we seem to be getting an uncritical acceptance by many news correspondents of the Lib-Con spin – that this is somehow a tax cut “targeted on those on low incomes” or “particularly to help the low paid” (to name but two we’ve heard in the last 24 hours).

But – as we pointed out in our analysis of this tax cut before the election – this claim is totally bogus:

• First, raising tax thresholds doesn’t help the poorest because they don’t have enough to pay income tax. Though the tax cut would cost £17 billion, three million households in the poorest quarter of the population would get not a penny of help. That includes the majority of pensioners. We notice some Lib Dem election leaflets sold this policy as “£100 for pensioners”. But it wouldn’t be. It would be £100 for the richest 40% of pensioners and nothing for the poorest 60% of pensioners.

This is why, lest we forget, Labour introduced the Winter Fuel Payment – not just to help with heating costs, but to provide a universal flat-rate payment that would help all pensioners without excluding the poorest. Let’s hope the Tories and Lib Dems don’t follow through on their sabre-rattling hints that they’d like to cut it.

• Second, the vast majority of this revenue goes not on cutting tax for the low paid, but cutting taxes for richer households. Some 70% of the benefit goes to the top half of society. And only £1 billion of the £17 billion cost – just 6% of the total – actually goes on the often-stated aim of “lifting those on low incomes out of tax”.

In a nutshell, saying you want to raise the tax allowance to £10,000 to help the low paid is a bit like saying you want to eat the cake with the cherry on top to increase your fruit intake. It is disingenuous. For any given amount of revenue, you could help those on low incomes far more by spending it on tax credits or public services than you could by spending it on increasing the personal allowance.

By the way, we have absolutely no problem with doing more to help middle-class households. Quite the opposite. But we think there’s something unfair about spending billions on financial support to middle-income households while excluding the poorest, particularly when there are alternative vehicles that avoid this problem, such as tax credits.

If the Lib Dems and Tories were serious about helping the low paid, they would strengthen the near-universal system of tax credits, not undermine it by cutting it back.

• Finally, the Lib Dem tax cut would give more to richer households than to poorer ones, as the graph below shows. Households near the top of the income spectrum would get on average four times as much as the poorest. The result would be a large increase in income inequality in society – especially between the bottom and middle (relative poverty).

Lib-Dem-regressive-tax-plans

Interestingly, Michael Howard considered an increase in the personal allowance for the Conservative manifesto in 2005. He rejected it as being too unfair. Meanwhile, many on the Tory right have long been campaigning to get this policy adopted – most recently Norman Tebbit, and before that Maurice Saatchi. (Indeed, if anyone wants a forensic analysis of why this Lib-Tory tax cut would be unfair, we can do no better than direct them to David Willetts’ excellent response to Lord Saatchi in 2005.)

The truth is that this tax cut was not a painful concession that the Tory right had to make. It is something they have wanted for years. The Taxpayers’ Alliance are delighted it has survived the horse-trading: “It’s good news that the Liberal Democrats have forced the Conservatives to take up their Income Tax policy,” they have just announced, adding that “it was among the most radical tax policies put forward during the campaign, and the Conservatives really missed a trick by not making it their own in the first place.”

And what about the Lib Dems themselves? When we produced our analysis in March, we were treated to a barrage of criticism from Liberal Democrat activists (even though our main points were subsequently validated by the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ own analysis). Their central complaint, however, was that we hadn’t taken into account the fact that the measure was being funded by taking huge amounts of money off the super-rich.

James Graham’s comments over at the Social Liberal Forum were typical:

“The fact that raising the tax threshold helps people on higher incomes more than people on low incomes is not, believe it or not, a startling revelation. We know. The party has never tried selling this policy in isolation; we’d be mad to attempt to because people would rightly ask where we propose trying to find £17bn. The two are meant to balance each other; that’s why we are calling for a tax shift and not either a rise or reduction in taxes overall.”

Well, sadly, it now looks as if the Lib Dems were only really interested in the tax cut. We don’t hold out any hope for the Libs to change their minds on this now they’ve teamed up with the Tories. But could the media please stop describing it as ‘a measure to help the poorest’?

For full analysis of the Lib Dem tax cut, see our report, “Think again, Nick! Why spending £17 billion to raise tax thresholds would not help the poorest”.

http://twitter.com/lsesulabour/status/13862338953 LSESU Labour

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/red_nick/status/13862632953 Nicolas Redfern

RT @HouseofTwitsLab: RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/ayshaqureshi/status/13862808004 Aysha Qureshi

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI – Awful – where's the LD anger?
http://twitter.com/isabeloconnor/status/13863085685 Isabel Izzy O’Connor

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/lawriemk/status/13863471279 Lawrie Morgan-Klein

RT @gemmatumelty: RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/adamramsay/status/13863649483 AdamRamsay

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/ladyedinburgh/status/13863881463 Sarah Brown

RT @StopTheRight: RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI #condem
http://twitter.com/denysenante/status/13864158140 Denyse Nante

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/stoptheright/status/13864309549 StopTheRight

@alandavies1 Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI ( via @leftfootfwd )
http://twitter.com/bluebanana23/status/13864573856 Sarah

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/siobhandavis/status/13864776786 Siobhan Davis

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/houseoftwits/status/13862215589 House Of Twits

RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/gedrobinson/status/13862233242 Ged Robinson

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/georginarannard/status/13864890027 Georgina Rannard

RT @AdamRamsay: RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/adambienkov/status/13862474273 Adam Bienkov

RT @HouseofTwitsLab RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/loopyb_75/status/13862556352 Louise John

Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI /via @leftfootfwd **Great analysis, worth a read
http://twitter.com/houseoftwitslab/status/13862599442 HouseOfTwitsLab

RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/houseoftwits/status/13862601107 House Of Twits

RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/vickymd/status/13862617341 Victoria MacDonald

RT @HouseofTwitsLab: RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/howupsetting/status/13862656861 Philip M

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/alexander_ball/status/13862661892 Alex Ball

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/chrisplol/status/13862679227 Chris Paul

RT @HouseofTwits: RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/class_war/status/13862892465 Nick Hider

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/thesliverparty/status/13862899297 The Sliver Party

RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI #ukelection Con/Dem Nation
http://twitter.com/jkg/status/13862974418 James Green

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/aliunwin/status/13862987828 Ali Unwin

absolutely–>Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI /via @leftfootfwd
http://twitter.com/janeayres/status/13862996190 Jane Ayres

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
Bill Kristol-Balls

What a nightmare.

All those stuck up middle class cleaners and shop assistants working full time for the minimum wage are about to get a £700 income tax cut.

They’ll be wanting a a company bus pass next the greedy f***ers.
http://twitter.com/regordane/status/13863075888 hilary

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/andytchadwick/status/13865725672 Andrew Chadwick

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/peterward2008/status/13865798977 Peterward

RT @gemmatumelty: RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/musicmp/status/13863361683 MusicMP

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/notapatchon/status/13863382285 not a patch on…

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/gemmatumelty/status/13863450367 gemma tumelty

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/lastyearsman/status/13863566104 Andrew Parrington

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/robinkelly1/status/13866240247 Robin Kelly

RT @StopTheRight: RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI #ukelection
http://twitter.com/drpizza/status/13863867569 Peter Bright

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
norbert

i wish someone would get rid of these f*cking tweets. 27 comments and only one containing information.

i also think the posts are often too long. i usually can’t be bothered to read the whole thing. this one for example would have been handy if the message was got over in the first paragraph or 2 with further information further down the post. i gather this one was something about tax?
http://twitter.com/jbuck88/status/13864151087 John

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
Silent Hunter

Oh look! A popular coalition government is doing something to fix the mess that Labour have made of the country – quick! . . . say something destructive and patronising.

As if we need any reminding as to just how bad Labour have been for our country.

Now do us all a favour and piss off into your well deserved obscurity.
http://twitter.com/rwhegarty/status/13866953888 Rory Hegarty

RT @PinstripeDave: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
norbert

i don’t think a tax cut is going to help anything at the moment. after the euro bail out we are number 1 on the list for speculators and they won’t come to our help. i just hope they sort it our before i have to pay for my holiday
http://twitter.com/eddierobson/status/13864881131 Eddie Robson

RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI /via @MerseyMal
http://twitter.com/clbwatkins/status/13867974675 Claire Watkins

RT @Alexander_Ball RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI < I agree.
http://dnmufc.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/clegg%e2%80%99s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-it%e2%80%99s-a-tory-dream/ Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream « Dnmufc's Blog

[...] http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/05/clegg’s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-its-a-tory-... Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Liberal Democrats Policy – part 2£150An Important Day for Nick Clegg [...]
http://twitter.com/timswift/status/13865677011 Tim Swift

Lib Dem tax policy – with Tory changes – benefits the well off, not the poor http://bit.ly/c1P8KL
http://twitter.com/estebanrooney/status/13865781169 Steve Rooney

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/mattdeaves/status/13868483230 Matthew Deaves

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
Mr. Sensible

Those cuts in public services certainly will not help the poorest, or indeed middle-Britain.
What happened to the pledge to get rid of tax evasion, Mr Clegg?
http://twitter.com/craignicol/status/13869833367 craignicol

Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream | Left Foot Forward http://j.mp/bIxkgN
http://twitter.com/loopyb_75/status/13870386813 Louise John

@Melonhead999 Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI /via @leftfootfwd
http://twitter.com/megabonatron/status/13871262923 Bonnie Jones

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/roborovski1/status/13871550921 Penfold

RT @HouseofTwitsLab RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://bestblogs.labourhome.org/2010/05/12/clegg%e2%80%99s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-it%e2%80%99s-a-tory-dream/ Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream « The best Labour blogs

[...] More… [...]
http://twitter.com/typejunky/status/13871976609 Nick Stone

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI, answer this Clegg you Tory cock
http://twitter.com/christophermars/status/13873372458 Christopher Marsland

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance will hurt the poor. Quelle Surprise. http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/heathcoter/status/13873586559 Heathcote Ruthven

Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream – http://tiny.cc/5uaff
http://twitter.com/barrabajagal/status/13871493057 Frances Armour

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/julietm/status/13874318762 Juliet M

RT @RupertRead: http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/05/clegg%E2%80%99s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-its-a-tory-dream/ A powerful piece. #ConDems
http://twitter.com/martinjdeane/status/13874617255 Martin Deane

RT @AdamRamsay: RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/frankieroberto/status/13875140867 Frankie Roberto

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/nextleft/status/13875358817 Sunder Katwala

RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/paullomax/status/13875625375 Paul Lomax

RT @nextleft: RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/cjwooduk/status/13875964467 Chris Wood

RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/martinhearson/status/13876118704 Martin Hearson

Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI (scary stuff from @leftfootfwd)
http://twitter.com/neilolivier/status/13876398546 Neil Borg-Olivier

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/piombo/status/13876928207 piombo

'Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream' http://bit.ly/bhk0Ab #camelegg #ge2010
http://twitter.com/kimleyland/status/13877214883 Kim Leyland

RT @nextleft: RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/ar_377/status/13877317130 Alex Robson

RT : 'Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream' http://bit.ly/bhk0Ab #camelegg #ge2010
http://twitter.com/nutritiousjim/status/13877694719 James McCormack

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/jonathanbryning/status/13877811374 Jonathan Bryning

RT @piombo: 'Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream' http://bit.ly/bhk0Ab #camelegg #ge2010 #ConDem
http://twitter.com/roborovski1/status/13875093150 Penfold

£10,000 tax threshold benefits the poor. You're having a laugh http://bit.ly/a43v7G #newsnight
http://twitter.com/adamramsay/status/13875501082 AdamRamsay

RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI <
< A must read
http://twitter.com/davidschoibl/status/13875512544 davidschoibl

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/martin_oneill/status/13875535565 Martin O’Neill

Fantastic analysis of Lib Dem's cave-in to regressive Tory fiscal policy, from perennially excellent Horton & Reed http://bit.ly/c40wCc #fb
http://twitter.com/faithforchange/status/13875741273 Steve

RT @nextleft: RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/sspcampsie/status/13875877171 SSP Campsie

Cleggs 10k tax allowance is no tory concession, it is a tory dream. http://short.to/2fr1j #ukelection #condemnation @joswinson
Eben

I still find it hard to be annoyed that the person who takes this job won’t have to pay tax http://cardiff.gumtree.com/cardiff/36/54136936.html. This is all an argument for taking other measures elsewhere in the Tax and Benefit systems, and agree that it’s a bad thing that measures like the mansion tax have been dropped.
http://twitter.com/sofiejenkinson/status/13876045125 Sof.

RT @sspcampsie: Cleggs 10k tax allowance is no tory concession, it is a tory dream. http://short.to/2fr1j #ukelection #condemnation @jos …
rwendland

The Con/LD alliance say the first step toward the £10,000 tax threshold will be funded by not cancelling the employee’s side of the NI rise. I’ve seen claims that this will be broadly neutral for most employees[*]. But of course the biggest net winners will be those (affluent people) living on investment income – as they don’t pay NI on investment income.

([*] be interesting to see a detailed anlysis of that claim in more detail)
http://badconscience.com/2010/05/12/post-election-meta-assessment/ Post Election Meta-Assessment « Bad Conscience

[...] tax threshold is very welcome indeed as is the move to raise the threshold for basic income tax (though see the important counter-concerns due to not increasing top-end tax to adjust for regressive effects) . Although the idiotic and [...]
http://twitter.com/creativegeek/status/13880665731 Robster

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/agathaslugg/status/13890546515 Jane

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/landmaneconomic/status/13897673261 Howard Reed

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/gavinlauchlan/status/13898294975 Gavin Lauchlan

RT @nextleft: RT @leftfootfwd Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/greenhaze/status/13899284476 Louise Hazan

RT @AdamRamsay: RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/malarky67/status/13899736604 StephenH

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/rebelraising/status/13900019886 Kate Joester

.@leftfootforward confirms what Green activist Alison Marshall suspected: the 10k tax allowance is regressive http://bit.ly/c1P8KL
http://twitter.com/coffeebucks/status/13900290892 Heather Noller

RT @rebelraising: .@leftfootforward confirms what Green activist Alison Marshall suspected: the 10k tax allowance is regressive http://bit.ly/c1P8KL
http://twitter.com/hatfinch/status/13900584998 Hamish Allan

Interesting analysis showing the 10k tax allowance gives proportionally less to low income households http://bit.ly/c1P8KL /via@rebelraising
http://twitter.com/lucyfunf/status/13900842533 Lucy Chapman

Tory/LD £10k tax cut won't help the poorest members of society : http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/robadamson/status/13901838910 Rob Adamson

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/amydodd80/status/13900000081 amy dodd

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
Anon E Mouse

Alistair Darling said he had identified £11 billion / year of government waste.

Why on earth would anyone want to advocate giving MORE tax to any government, especially when the people taking the tax admit that a huge amount of money is wasted?

Take as little as you can from the people and stop encouraging more taxes.
http://twitter.com/paulmac/status/13903194263 Paul MacInnes

Why the Libs' income tax change is a regressive move http://bit.ly/c1P8KL and a tory dream david willetts opposed http://bit.ly/bpX6AT
http://twitter.com/creativegeek/status/13903750157 Robster

If you missed this, read it now..how this tax to supposedly help low incomes is none of the such http://bit.ly/b6Nesa #condem #sameoldtories
http://twitter.com/mroolong/status/13905291891 Fergus Ray Murray

RT @rebelraising: .@leftfootforward confirms what Green activist Alison Marshall suspected: the 10k tax allowance is regressive http://bit.ly/c1P8KL
http://www.socialistunity.com/?p=5854 SOCIALIST UNITY » LIBERALS SET TO BE THE FALL GUYS FROM THE TORY PRESS

[...] in fact, the increase in tax threshold is not necessarily a progressive measure, as it is not targeted to help the lower paid, and provides a tax cut to everyone; it will also be [...]
http://twitter.com/gratdog/status/13909455107 gratdog

RT @PaulMac: Why the Libs' income tax change is a regressive move http://bit.ly/c1P8KL and a tory dream david willetts opposed http://bi …
http://twitter.com/demontrout/status/13913121669 Demontrout

70% of LibDem's £17 billion tax cut benefits the wealthiest half of society. Only 6% helps the poorest > http://bit.ly/9nrgyY
http://twitter.com/piombo/status/13918426433 piombo

'Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream' http://bit.ly/bhk0Ab #camelegg #ge2010 (daytime rpt)
http://twitter.com/willm66/status/13919984353 Will Melia

People need informing of this: RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/group51uk/status/13922400011 Christopher Mahon

Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream http://tinyurl.com/3yx2eyr << very disappointing
http://twitter.com/debmildenstein/status/13931277473 Debbie

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI #takeitback #ukvote #condem
http://twitter.com/pferron/status/13937322355 pferron

#bbcqt 10K tax policy a great concession by the Tories?? are we really sure? http://bit.ly/9fRAPH @bbcquestiontime
Robert

Excellent informative analysis. I adding leftfootward to my favourites list.
Alex

“And it looks instead as if the revenue will come mainly from public spending cuts – making the overall effect even more regressive”

Where is that said, anywhere? Remember the policies that were to pay for it:

* Capital gains tax
* Per Plane duty
* Tax avoidance crackdown
* Mansion tax

Of that, only the mansion tax has gone. And there’s no indication that the money needed to replace that will come from spending cuts. Could do, but nothing on it in their agreement.

And saying “even more regressive” implies that it was regressive initially, but as has been pointed out to them time and time again, the threshold isn’t being raised in isolation, the rich are being hammered to pay for it with rises to capital gains tax etc.

So LFF are dishonest.
Hugh

I look forward to reading Labour proposals to reduce the poverty trap. That is how to move from benefits to full work without benefits. I am not an Research Director. I just live in the middle of one of the most deprived parts of the country and live it.
I just hope that your new leader gets it. Increasing the starting rate of tax from 10% to 20% was the end for Labour. Why should a pensioner pay extra tax to give a tax cut to the bankers in the city who got us into this mess. Our Labour MP looked at the floor when asked this question – and lost the seat.
Aidan

I assume its a Labour party PPC or candidate who wrote this.
If you put this on an internet forum it would be trolling, you’ve not mentioned anything to do with marginal tax rates being too high for the lowest paid, a major aim of the policy. Of course labour wish to take money away from people to give it back to them in tax credits, its about control. No matter that it costs huge amounts to administer the tax credit, the £50 required to cash each cheque for instance, as long as they can decide who gives what alls well even if the poor get poorer. The fact of the matter is that if we were to help the poorest in work by tax credits are your suggesting then some people would be faced with a marginal tax rate of over 100%, clearly an unacceptable scenario. Moreover those who will recieve the greatest percentage income are those on £10k a year, hardly the ‘super rich’. The real reason why the Labour party can’t stand this policy is because it puts people in the driving seat of their lives, and not the government.
James

yes it doesnt help the poorest people because they have no jobs. there is already plenty of support for people who dont work. but what about the people who do work low paid jobs scraping not far above minimum wage?
the people earning min wage tend to earn around £12k. this tax break means that around 33% more of their income is untaxed. that does help people who are in work and rewards the fact they have a job. it was never liberal policy for this to be paid for by spending cuts in the public sector.
we need to stop the mentality “Why would i get a job when i’ll earn more on benefits because of all the tax il pay?” … this goes some way to helping that
http://www.touchstoneblog.org.uk/2010/05/web-links-for-14th-may-2010/ Web links for 14th May 2010 | ToUChstone blog: A public policy blog from the TUC

[...] Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream Howard Reed and Tim Horton have written for Left Foot Forward on how the Lib Dems £10k tax threshold policy has changed in its adoption by the Conservatives, and how it's now much less likely to help towards its stated objective of rebalancing the tax system to the poorest. Related posts (automatically generated):Budget 2010 must include support for industrial investmentBudget 2010: Progressives Liveblog – 24 March, 12pmPre-Budget Report LIVE: Online coverage from noon [...]
http://twitter.com/nextwavefutures/status/13997834136 Andrew Curry

Surprised? Child benefit cuts hurt the poor. http://bit.ly/d899cu And the £10K #tax threshold helps the top 30% most. http://bit.ly/a99QoV
http://chrisjw133.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/fair-taxes-a-possible-lesson-for-japan/ Fair taxes: A possible lesson for Japan? « Chrisjw133's Blog

[...] this idea but it is interesting none the less and perhaps the 10k tax move is a start towards this. Left Foot Forward did put out a response to the idea of raising the tax allowance which showed how having a higher [...]
http://twitter.com/kdubash/status/13998639542 coexist

RT @nextwavefutures: Surprised? Child benefit cuts hurt the poor. http://bit.ly/d899cu And the £10K #tax threshold helps the top 30% most. http://bit.ly/a99QoV
Tim Horton

Alex – I think you’re wrong. I think it’s not just mansion tax that’s gone, but also the proposal to scrap higher-rate pensions relief. And while the element of the CGT tax rise that remains is good, I’m afraid it is only part of what the Lib Dems were originally planning on CGT to finance this.

I think the clue is that we have been told this tax cut is being made with the revenue that was previously going to finance the Tory proposal to increase the NI threshold. And that came from public spending cuts (the same ones the Lib Dems were attacking during the election campaign).

Finally, the reason we have described the measure as regressive is that the average gain per decile as a percentage of household income increases as you move up the income spectrum – and that regressive gradient remains across the bottom 90% of the population even when you take the tax-raising measures into account. (I think we’ve had this exchange before?)

By all means check with your Tory coalition partners, but I somehow suspect the rich won’t ‘be hammered’ to pay for it.

By the way, this tax cut looks even more grotesque when you consider that the Lib-Con coalition are planning to increase VAT too. You’ll be pleased to know we’ll be doing a distributional analysis of that too!
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2010/05/15/clegg%e2%80%99s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-its-a-tory-dream/ Tax Research UK » Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream

[...] Clegg’s 10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream | Left Foot Forward. [...]
http://twitter.com/mrpublichealth/status/14028811934 Mr Public Health

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream: http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/peter_j_roberts/status/14033692198 Peter Roberts

RT @georgeowers: Lib Dems support 'biggest increase in income inequality of any single policy since Nigel Lawson's 1988 budget' – http://tiny.cc/chsk6
http://twitter.com/phelim/status/14034553519 Phelim Brady

Excellent piece on what I've been telling Lib Dems for weeks.Tax plans weren't good to start with, now they're even worse http://is.gd/ca3xN
http://twitter.com/peter_j_roberts/status/14038954534 Peter Roberts

RT @Phelim: Excellent piece on what I've been telling Lib Dems for weeks.Tax plans weren't good to start with, now they're even worse http://is.gd/ca3xN
http://www.george.irvin.com George Irvin

Excellent piece … throughly demistifies what has passed as a ‘progressive’ measure. Keep up the good work.
Henrique

“For any given amount of revenue, you could help those on low incomes far more by spending it on tax credits or public services than you could by spending it on increasing the personal allowance.”

Why not just cut tax for those on lower incomes? By the way, it is not “spending money” to cut taxes, it is simply not raising that money.
http://twitter.com/jkeen14/status/14047382473 Jason Keen

Excellent analysis here – maybe why Labour weren't very keen in negotiations. http://bit.ly/9fRAPH
Georges

“Though the tax cut would cost £17 billion…”

Always keen to understand how this works. Would the new system cost individuals £17 billion -or- cost government £17 billion?
http://twitter.com/electionbear/status/14112516731 Matt Wallace

@lrhnsm27 – http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/05/clegg’s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-its-a-tory-dream/ <— read
http://twitter.com/electionbear/status/14112544567 Matt Wallace

@lrhnsm27 http://bit.ly/dpkJqR or that is a shorter link
http://twitter.com/rorydoona/status/14116515952 Rory Doona

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/disco_infiltrat/status/14165150916 Disco_Infiltrator

@BenCooper86 http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/05/clegg%E2%80%99s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-its-a-tory-dream/
http://twitter.com/mediaactivist/status/14169474657 Jay Baker

RT @JaneWatkinson: RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/janewatkinson/status/14169335687 Jane Watkinson

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://bit.ly/bTw8DI
http://twitter.com/electionbear/status/14173301665 Matt Wallace

@PompeyGoat http://bit.ly/cNOIeB <-
Steve P

Not following how taking the poorest workers out of the tax system is a “regressive” move?

So you are making 10K per annum = no tax / 200,000 per annum = 190K at 20/40/50 percent bands?
http://www.newfred.com Newfred

I have attempted to rebut this article here:

http://blog.newfred.com/2010/05/tax-and-spend.html
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/05/the-government-must-hold-its-nerve-on-capital-gains-tax/ The Government must hold its nerve on Capital Gains Tax | Left Foot Forward

[...] is due to raise the lower threshold to £10,000, effectively giving everyone a tax cut, however regressive). Increasing corporation tax is inadvisable at a time when Britain must retain and attract [...]
http://theredunderthebed.sandieandrich.org.uk/blog/?p=805 The Red Under The Bed » Blog Archive » Time for reform

[...] that the Lib Dem’s proposed to pay for it and to ensure a fairer distribution of wealth, it has been suggested that this is in fact a regressive move which will only serve to widen the gap between rich and [...]
Ash

Aidan

“Of course labour wish to take money away from people to give it back to them in tax credits, its about control.”

But many of the poorest – including many part-time workers as well as people out of work – already don’t pay tax. And many who *do* pay tax, pay less tax than they receive in tax credits. So it’s just false to claim that tax credits for the poorest are simply a way of giving their own money back to them.

“No matter that it costs huge amounts to administer the tax credit, the £50 required to cash each cheque for instance, as long as they can decide who gives what alls well even if the poor get poorer.”

For the poor to get poorer is for their incomes to fall relative to the median income – relative poverty being defined as 60% of median income. Increasing the tax threshold to £10,000 would raise the median income, but not the incomes of the poorest (who do not pay tax and so do not benefit from the raised threshold). Therefore the proposed rise in the threshold would mean the poor getting poorer. The same cannot be said for tax credits, since these serve to raise the incomes of the very poorest as well as the median income.

“The fact of the matter is that if we were to help the poorest in work by tax credits are your suggesting then some people would be faced with a marginal tax rate of over 100%, clearly an unacceptable scenario.”

I don’t think this is right. Tax credits don’t just get taken away as soon as your income rises – there’s a gradual taper.

“Moreover those who will recieve the greatest percentage income are those on £10k a year, hardly the ’super rich’.”

…and insofar as it puts £700 into the pocket of someone on £10,000, the policy is of course a good thing. What’s unacceptable is that it gives the same amount to someone on £50,000, £80,000, £100,000, but *less* to someone on £8,000, and nothing to someone on £6,000.

James –

“there is already plenty of support for people who dont work. but what about the people who do work low paid jobs scraping not far above minimum wage?”

Well, we could (and do) help them with tax credits (which might very well be worth a lot more to them than £700 a year!). And note that even if there’s currently enough help in place for poor non-taxpayers, that amount of help will have to be increased if the median income is raised – if we don’t want poverty and inequality to increase.
http://twitter.com/timjhorton/status/14370935174 Tim Horton

Taxpayers Alliance: “good news that the Lib Dems have forced the Tories to take up their income tax policy” Analysis at http://bit.ly/aMjh2B
Bruce Jamieson

It surprises me how many intelligent people have completely missed the point. What is the reason for taxation – is it to hit the rich? Of course not; it is to assist in raising the money to run the country. So once again the old chestnut of the Law of Diminishing Returns is conveniently ignored. Firstly, the point of the lowest paid not being benefited is totally obvious; that is what tax credits are for which is a form of negative income tax. You cannot suddenly do huge amounts for such peopel. Then there are the next echelon. I am a chartered financial planner and tax consultant. yesterday I saw a postman who retired last year. On income of about £8000 he is thrilled at the new proposal. Finanlly in the USA when they dropped the tax rate radically the TAKE shot up which is what I would expect.

If you drive the rich away you have less source of cash both in tax and in the velocity of money to help everyone else. This is why the latest European Directive on Hedge Funds is such a disaster – it will drive these money makers into USA and Switzerland. Gordon Brown had appreciated that as now has George Osborne. Clearly Angela Merkel has not and has angered the French, Germans and others by banning certain shorting which will reduce liquity and could even lead to the collapse of the Euro – which I predicetd several years ago anyway.

It is far better to have a huge cake to distribute than to attempt fairness by distributing a small cake equally.
http://twitter.com/leftfootfwd/status/14423247858 Left Foot Forward

@typejunky @LisaQuattromini Did you mean this? http://bit.ly/c1P8KL
http://janespoliticalramblings.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/big-public-spending-cuts-await/ Big public spending cuts await… « My Political Ramblings

[...] the capital gains tax alone will fund the income tax threshold rise. This has been in response to analysts that have argued that the rise in the income threshold will be primarily paid through public [...]
http://momentsofc.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/factcheck-liberal-democrats-23-policies/ FactCheck: Liberal Democrat’s ’23 policies…’ «

[...] ‘fairness’ means robbing Peter to pay Paul and picking Paul’s pocket after as Left Foot Forward helpfully [...]
http://twitter.com/daryn_mccombe/status/15546272978 Daryn McCombe

@IntravenusMP http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/05/clegg’s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-its-a-tory-dream/
http://janespoliticalramblings.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/the-anti-statist-approach-is-preventing-needed-economicsocial-reform/ The anti-statist approach is preventing needed economic/social reform… « My Political Ramblings

[...] the opposition to capital gains tax, the now regressive nature of the rise in income threshold (http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/05/clegg’s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-its-a-tory-…). Broken promises and a reinforcement of a damaging status [...]
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/06/the-alternative-to-osbornes-bombshell/ The alternative to “Osborne’s bombshell” | Left Foot Forward

[...] an increase in the personal allowance for income tax – a Lib Dem priority which does nothing for the poorest [...]
http://dnmufc.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/the-alternative-to-%e2%80%9cosborne%e2%80%99s-bombshell%e2%80%9d/ The alternative to “Osborne’s bombshell” « Dnmufc's Blog

[...] an increase in the personal allowance for income tax – a Lib Dem priority which does nothing for the poorest [...]
http://twitter.com/jamjarred/status/17148441587 James

Budget hits poorest hardest whilst leaving top earners unscathed http://bit.ly/9fRAPH
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/08/first-xi-the-tory-mps-committed-to-narrowing-the-gap-between-rich-and-poor/ First XI: The Tory MPs committed to narrowing the gap between rich and poor | Left Foot Forward

[...] which will hit Britain’s poorest families six times harder than the richest – and the regressive changes to the tax threshold, which would give more to richer households than poorer ones, among other measures. Share | [...]
http://janespoliticalramblings.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/clegg-fails-in-desperate-attempt-to-deny-an-alternative-to-the-current-economic-machismo/ Clegg fails in desperate attempt to deny an alternative to the current economic machismo… | My Political Ramblings

[...] in more public spending cuts to fund it as the tax the wealthy ideas to fund it have been dropped click here. This policy doesn’t help the poorest, only the richer sectors of [...]
http://twitter.com/janewatkinson/status/19113466375700480 Jane Watkinson

@Dyslexic_Trojan read that http://bit.ly/bTw8DI -it's at the bottom with links. Notably; Michael Howard considered an increase…
http://twitter.com/morgana42/status/141499495899869184 ann morgan

The Lib Dem tax cut spends the vast majority of revenue on cutting taxes for richer households http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #as11
http://twitter.com/jamesmills1984/status/141499560987082752 James Mills

The Lib Dem tax cut spends the vast majority of revenue on cutting taxes for richer households http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #as11
http://twitter.com/stevegpreston/status/141500316662251521 Steve Preston

The Lib Dem tax cut spends the vast majority of revenue on cutting taxes for richer households http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #as11
http://twitter.com/labour52rose/status/141500625224605696 Alex Braithwaite

The Lib Dem tax cut spends the vast majority of revenue on cutting taxes for richer households http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #as11
http://twitter.com/karenpbuckmp/status/141503982584594432 Karen Buck MP

The Lib Dem tax cut spends the vast majority of revenue on cutting taxes for richer households http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #as11
http://twitter.com/jintyg51/status/141506376793997313 Janet Graham

The Lib Dem tax cut spends the vast majority of revenue on cutting taxes for richer households http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #as11
http://twitter.com/mattalchemypr/status/141519783492464640 Matt Learmouth

The Lib Dem tax cut spends the vast majority of revenue on cutting taxes for richer households http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #as11
http://twitter.com/andybeesley/status/141523471808217089 Andy Beesley

The Lib Dem tax cut spends the vast majority of revenue on cutting taxes for richer households http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #as11
http://twitter.com/garethlangston/status/141524342398926848 Gareth

Remove the mansion tax & it's just a typical Tory policy. RT @leftfootfwd: £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession http://t.co/jAh1JpNi
http://twitter.com/genevieveflight/status/141853095389954048 Genevieve Flight

Again, the £10k tax allowance isn't a Tory concession, it's a Tory dream: http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #PMQs
http://twitter.com/digitalraven/status/141853143855149056 Stew Wilson

Again, the £10k tax allowance isn't a Tory concession, it's a Tory dream: http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #PMQs
http://twitter.com/chr1sr0berts/status/141853582138945537 Chris Roberts

Again, the £10k tax allowance isn't a Tory concession, it's a Tory dream: http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #PMQs
http://twitter.com/scarlett16/status/141910459438735360 Donna Govan

Again, the £10k tax allowance isn't a Tory concession, it's a Tory dream: http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #PMQs
http://twitter.com/ziggy7/status/141964946949943296 Tania Ziegler

Again, the £10k tax allowance isn't a Tory concession, it's a Tory dream: http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #PMQs
http://twitter.com/jamesmills1984/status/144390248833622016 James Mills

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/petercollins8/status/144390556871688192 Peter Collins

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/moahmed93/status/144390569240707072 Mohammed Ahmed

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/northerntuc/status/144390960296624128 Northern TUC

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/chr1sr0berts/status/144391240190926849 Chris Roberts

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/proudreader/status/144392244521209857 Dan

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/ziggy7/status/144397569160781824 Tania Ziegler

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/gplondon/status/144408839670861827 Geoffrey Pearson

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/rattlecans/status/144408999083782144 Rattlecans

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/jintyg51/status/144418855215828993 Janet Graham

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/m_bromley/status/144432954901401600 Matt Bromley

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/justjayne4/status/144442598193512448 Jayne Hornby

RT @leftfootfwd: Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it's a Tory dream http://t.co/012QHiUw
http://twitter.com/safy_l/status/144453393165983744 Safeera Laher

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/threadbarepanda/status/144466158681194496 Panda

Seems like we link this every week, but: The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/JNtQwVn7 #pmqs
http://twitter.com/lavarae/status/144540836615561217 Rachel Walker

RT @leftfootfwd 'The 10K tax band is a handout to the richest in society. http://t.co/Z24dOmqc'; Always thought this was the case.
http://twitter.com/janewatkinson/status/162487148333895681 Jane Watkinson

@StephenMullen http://t.co/dmnGWj1b’s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-its-a-tory-dream/
http://twitter.com/janewatkinson/status/162487172983820288 Jane Watkinson

@WoollyMindedLib @StephenMullen http://t.co/dmnGWj1b’s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-its-a-tory-dream/
http://twitter.com/janewatkinson/status/162487804591476736 Jane Watkinson

@WoollyMindedLib http://t.co/IPra3dIk’s-10k-tax-allowance-is-no-tory-concession-its-a-tory-dream/ try that
http://twitter.com/johnrentoul/status/162506156122701824 John Rentoul

Left Foot Forward post says Clegg's tax cut is highly regressive – not sure if it takes into account PA wdrawal http://t.co/rcnYjQEI
http://twitter.com/mustberead/status/162506397014167552 MustBeRead

Tim Horton at @LeftFootFwd says "Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream" – http://t.co/KwXkSaIe
http://twitter.com/RyanCPS Ryan Bourne

This article is really having to try have its cake and eat it. Whenever ‘fairness’ issues usually come up, the analysis on LFF looks at relativities or proportion of income. So, for example, our income tax system is described as ‘progressive’ because those higher up pay more AS A PROPORTION OF INCOME. Likewise, VAT is described as regressive because poor people pay more AS A PROPORTION OF INCOME. Therefore, when analysing tax cuts you must judge it in the same currency. Your chart above clearly shows that the poorest might gain £5 and the richest £17 per week – as a proportion of income, the £5 is much much more significant to the poor person than the £17 to the rich. Therefore, the policy is progressive – and by the measures you usually judge these things, you should be supporting it!
Neil O’Brien

I was going to make the same point as Ryan.

Another example of having your cake and eating it seems be advocating that the money is spent on tax credits, but then describing them as “near-universal”. Really? Nine tenths of the spending goes on the bottom half of the income distribution (why you argue for it). But surely this is the opposite of the universalism being argued for on LFF by Andrew Harrop?
http://www.markpack.org.uk/ Mark Pack

What a very odd comment in “it looks instead as if the revenue [for the £10k allowance] will come mainly from public spending cuts”. In the speech today Nick Clegg didn’t say anything about cutting public spending to pay for it, but instead after he said it needed funding followed with 12 paragraphs about how to raise other tax revenue in order to fund it. In those 12 paragraphs was also reference to mansion tax, yet your post talks about that part of the policy being dropped. So what’s the evidence for your claim?
http://twitter.com/neilgarratt/status/162582002606944257 Neil Garratt

Tim Horton at @LeftFootFwd says "Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream" – http://t.co/KwXkSaIe
http://twitter.com/innerfamilylife/status/162933198458855425 innerfamilylife

Tim Horton at @LeftFootFwd says "Clegg’s £10k tax allowance is no Tory concession; it’s a Tory dream" – http://t.co/KwXkSaIe