MORE SOCIALIST CLAPTRAP FROM CLEGG.

That well known socialist, Nick Clegg, wants what he calls the wealthiest people in Britain to pay more tax 'for a limited period'. Ho, Ho, Ho !

 

While it is typical of Clegg and his Liberal colleagues to throw out such stupid ideas, it's also the case that statements like this are always so full of amiguity as to be meaningless. Who would be in the 'group he considers to be the 'wealthiest people' ? What does he mean by 'more tax' ? What is a 'limited period' ?

 

Governments, especially those of a socialist hue, rarely if ever reduce taxes on anyone. A trumpeted reduction in one area is usually accompanied by the muted introduction of another in some other quarter. In Britain, income tax was introduced as a temporary measure at the time of the Napoleonic wars - so much for 'temporary' or 'limited period'. As for paying more tax, the people of this country already pay something like 50% of their total income in taxes of one sort or another - isn't this more than enough ?

 

Yes, it's true that some people earn more than others and have greater savings and other assets but, as a rule, these people pay their taxes the same as everyone else. They actually pay vastly more in tax, not as a percentage but in absolute terms, than the poorest in our society who receive large handouts from the state rather than having their pockets picked by it.

 

It is very easy to forget, and often conveniently ignored by politicians, that we have a range of different taxes and not just income tax. National Insurance is a secondary tax on our incomes while VAT, assorted excise duties on alcohol, tobacco and fuel for instance, stamp duty on certain asset purchases, air passenger duty, car tax, road tax and probably several I've forgotten all get us when we spend anything we've managed to keep out of our income. Then there's council tax which seems to be for no good purpose at all, capital gains tax make sure we haven't profitted from any investments and inheritance tax to steal whatever we manage to leave when we die.

 

Of course, despite all of these taxes some people still manage to accrue significant wealth but they are a minute proportion of the population. They also tend to be the people who've been highly successful in business and often brought substantial wealth to the country as a whole. To attack them with demands that yjey pay still more tax will simply drive them away.

 

As with all good socialists, Clegg and his friends believe that the state knows best. Consequently, they believe in taking as much money as possible from anyone who has any and using on whatever pet projects they've dreamt up; this usually means pouring a large part of the proceeds of their thievery straight down the drain on worthless rubbish. To compound things, the politicians have a number of special tax arrangements that shelter them from the effects of much of what they do to the rest of us, ensuring that they, who are generally much, much wealthier than us, are largely unaffected by their actions.

 

If this comes across as a rant, that's because it's meant to be. The last thing this country needs is more taxation. What it actually needs is a lot less taxation, less state spending and less government. Get rid of a few hundred, even thousand, politicians; get rid of some of the vast number of civil servants and other state employees who do little but shuffle paper in pursuit of some ridiculous government inspired policy or practice. Free the country from the bureaucratic straitjacket in which it is now confined. Only then will we be able to see the light of day again.