New income tax rate set at 45%
The government has today introduced the new 45% tax rate for those earning over £150,000 per year but this is not planned to come into force until 2011. This has caused obvious concern within the Conservative party and while they have not commented specifically on the new tax, for fear of falling into a government trap, there are grave concerns that Conservative supporters will demand a clear strategy for the new income tax band.
This appears to be more of a political move that a fiscal move with the new tax band only affecting the top 1% of taxpayers in the UK and said to only raise a paltry £4 billion. At the same time as introducing this new tax rate the government has also confirmed that each basic rate taxpayer will be £145 better off next year due to changes in the tax bands. It is hoped that consumers will use this increased income wisely and it should hopefully instigate some form of economic recovery.
The Chancellor has caught many people off guard with his tax changes even though a number of the main ones where already leaked to the press. The 45% tax rate band had been kept under wraps until late last night and appears to have gone down well with traditional Labour supporters.
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