Taxman Mister Wilson and Taxman Mister Heath may be long gone, but Taxmen Blair and Howard are still dancing around the issue of that most distasteful of words. What they offer, however, is hardly going to take us by surprise. The Tories say they'll cut taxes, Labour say they won't raise them, but will probably find some equivalent in the form of National Insurance. Is anyone still awake?
Some of the more interesting contributions to the debate have come from the unveiling of the Lib Dem and Green manifestos. At first glance, some of the Lib Dem proposals may seem closer to the Communist Manifesto, than any Liberal one. Scrap council tax, create a local income tax, 50% upper band income tax for the highest earners, raise pensions, abolish tuition fees, investment in public services, declare Britain a Marxist republic of the people. Ok the last one was just wishful thinking, but some sound policies nevertheless, despite Charles Kennedy's hazy flip flopping over the issue yesterday on The Daily Politics show. This coupled with their at least token opposition to the war (though certainly not the occupation!), and perhaps we can begin to see where Tariq Ali is coming from.
However we should be cautious before assuming the Lib Dems have suddenly taken up the scarlet banner based on their tax and spend policies. They are not a party rooted in working class or socialist movements, their opposition to the war barely lasted five minutes, and they want further privatisation and to curb the rights of workers. For a good discussion on this topic, read Andy Newman’s article The Lib Dems are yellow Tories on the Socialist Unity Network site.
The Greens, however, have taken a far more progressive approach. Explicitly proposing taxation as a means for the redistribution of wealth, they argue for a 50% tax band on earnings over £50,000 and 60% for over £100,000. Even more interestingly, the Greens want to phase out the deeply unfair VAT, which hits lower income families hardest on household essentials, and replace it with an ‘eco-tax’ that reflects the ‘environmental costs of production and consumption’ and encourages ‘behaviour that contributes to long term sustainability’.
A very radical manifesto and the prospects of an electoral breakthrough for the Greens may allay fears of more conservative elements of the party, and may even attract my vote in Cambridge. I’ll have to wait to see what Respect has to offer in their manifesto, to be launched on Monday, before I can make up my mind.
SS
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