The Liberal Democrats want to scrap income tax below a threshold of £10,000, costing the UK exchequer around £16.7bn a year.
To bankroll this, they plan to give pension tax relief at basic rate to everybody, a move that would bring in more than £5bn. They would also introduce anti-avoidance measures relating to corporation tax, income tax and national insurance to bring in another £6.95bn.
Add to these measures an overhaul of capital gains tax and a clampdown on the aviation sector and the plans would yield a total of more than £17bn.
Labour’s controversial increase in NICs would be reversed when enough resources were available to make the move feasible.
The Liberal Democrats would give HMRC increased powers to enable them to track tax avoiders and all non-domiciled individuals would need to pay tax on offshore income after 7 years.
Gift Aid would be fixed at 23% which would enable charities to receive more cash whilst closing a loophole for people in the higher tax brackets.
Individuals with more than one house may face a higher council tax bill as local authorities would be given the power to set a higher rate for second homes.
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Image: Traditional archery at Japanfest by johntrainor
