UK - A tax haven for the super-rich

Simon Carter

Prime Minister David Cameron pledged at Tory party conference to make tax cuts to assist 30 million "hardworking families".

However, according to tax experts, the main beneficiaries won't be the claimed 30 million but only the rich. According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies only 15% of the gains from increasing the personal tax allowance would benefit the poorest 50% of people in the country.

And to pay for these £7 billion of tax breaks the millionaire Tory Chancellor, George Osborne, intends to apply more brutal public spending cuts. These include hitting 10 million households with a two-year freeze on benefits and tax credits amounting to £3 billion.

These extra cuts will devastate the poorest and most vulnerable families, who could lose up to £490 a year, are on top of the government's current austerity measures.

And having got the Tory party faithful salivating over these attacks Osborne tossed them another bone in the shape of continuing to freeze public sector workers' pay until 2017.

These attacks are entirely consistent with the Tory strategy of making the working class pay for the crisis in capitalism. Last year, Osborne introduced the hated 'bedroom tax' at the same time as lowering the top rate of income tax.

But with one eye on an angry electorate the Chancellor revived his discredited 'were all in it together' soundbite by announcing (again) that he's going to crack down on aggressive tax avoidance by the super-rich and giant corporations like Apple and Starbucks, etc.

George failed to mention that, like his Labour predecessors, he has consistently reduced the standard rate of corporation tax to one the lowest in Western Europe.

In addition, he has cut the tax rate on company profits derived from 'patented products' making the effective rate of corporation tax in the UK the lowest in the EU. As one economist put it: "The UK is now a tax haven for corporations"!

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Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.