Will anybody actually pay the new 45% income tax rate?
In what has turned out to be a very difficult time for the UK government a number of accountants have come forward to suggest that the new 45% income tax rate will raise negligible income for the authorities. There is a strong suspicion that more and more of the higher earners brought into the new tax rate will either make larger conditions to their pensions, give more money to charity or move overseas.
Even before the government's new tax band has been introduced it has been ridiculed by many in the industry. The situation regarding the 18.5% VAT rate also rumbles on with evidence in the possession of the BBC to suggest it was only dropped a couple of days ago. This is a major blow to Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling and the publication of the document, in error, will rumble on for some time. Under intense pressure over the next few days it looks as other government will indicate that a VAT rise is out of the question at this moment in time.
However, the fact that it was even considered is of great concern to the UK consumer and could do serious damage to the voting power of Gordon Brown.
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