[Boyd1963]

Originally Posted by Rochdale Pioneers

Remember that what we're trying to cut here is the deficit, not spending. SOrry if I keep explaining this on various posts, but its important that people can ignore the politics and understand the economics. The deficit is the gap between our income (tax receipts) and outgoings - and as we haven't suddenly started spending an additional £180bn a year we weren't doing before, its obvious that the gap is tax receipts falling through the floor due to the recession.

Think about it. We lost the tax paid on the vast profits from the city. We lost the tax paid by the million people who lost their jobs. We lost the tax paid on all the things these people used to buy. Never mind basic maths and sanity like this, we know it to be true because we cut £20bn off the deficit before the election thanks to the end of the recession bringing in higher than expected tax revenues.

Its much easier to grow away the deficit than cut it away. £1bn of aditional tax receipts means growth. Which means more people in work spending money. Which means more people in work etc etc. Or you can cut £1bn worth of jobs, lose that tax revenue, pay more benefits and away we go again.

So how would I raise the £1bn? Well I wouldn't object to 40% taxpayers like me losing child benefit if it was done on income. Make is that that households earning north of the 40% threshhold lose the benefi and you wouldn't be haing this discussion as it would be seen as fair.

But if Osborne wanted the cash, why did he let Vodafone off its £6bn tax bill? Why is he hacking so many tax inspector jobs at HMRC? Its almost as if the government has no interest in collecting taxes from the fabulously wealthy and wants to make the rest of us suffer instead. A Tory government. That can't be the case.....

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