10p TAX RATE - LABOUR MUST LOOK AFTER LOW PAID WORKERS
by Chris Bartter
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Dave Prentis
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UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis,
has called on the Government to return to an agenda
that looks after low paid workers and to compensate
those who have been hit by the abolition of the 10p
tax rate.
Speaking at the Scottish TUC in Inverness,
he will urge the Prime Minister to take up the offer
of John McFall, MP and the Treasury sub-committee
to work together to make sure that those who lost
out are compensated.
Dave said: "The abolition of the 10p
tax rate has dealt a body blow to millions of low
paid workers. A review that kicks the problem into
the long grass is not good enough. These workers need
to be compensated now. They are opening pay slips
now and finding that they are up to £15 a month worse
off.
”They are the ones who can least afford
to lose money. They are already reeling from energy
and food price hikes, and the cost of borrowing. They
are the very people that the Labour Government should
be helping.
”Gordon Brown has a good track record
on taxation and measures to alleviate poverty. What
has gone wrong?
"He ought to do the right thing and
take measures now to compensate those who are losing
out. I urge him to take up the offer made by John
McFall and the Treasury sub-committee to work together
to make sure those who lost out are compensated.
”And let's be clear about the overall
sum we are talking about - £550 million. That's an
average £2 a week for the low paid and when you have
to count every penny, that's a lot. But for the rich,
£2 a week is not even loose change.
"The TUC has calculated that the Government
could raise the £550 million just by closing a loophole
that allows the rich to split ownership of an asset
with a spouse, within twelve months before its sale.
And there are many more ways of getting the rich to
pay their fair share.
”Fair taxes should be a cornerstone
of this Government. Imposing an extra tax burden on
the low paid, while allowing the rich to get away
with their tax avoidance schemes destroys that principle.
We must return to an agenda that looks after all the
low paid.”
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