Is the 45% tax rate just the thin end of the wedge?
When senior Labour ministers such as Tessa Jowell are suggesting that the UK's high earners are concerned about the ongoing situation regarding UK tax, it really is time to sit and listen. Miss Jowell has pleaded with Gordon Brown to confirm that the forthcoming introduction of a 45% band is not the thin end of the wedge, and the middle class and high-class earners will not come under further pressure.
This is the latest in a number of insinuations that Gordon Brown is set to unleash the Treasury on the higher earners in UK in order to supplement those on low wages, who are traditional Labour party followers. There is a feeling within Westminster that Gordon Brown is preparing the troops for a general election in 2009 as 2010 looks like being even worse. There have also been calls for the Conservative government to reveal their strategy for the future as they traditionally support the higher earners in UK but have so far failed to suggest an alternative to the 45% tax band.
The battle lines have certainly been drawn for the next general election and whether this comes in 2009 or 2010 it is sure to be the most controversial general election of recent times.
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