The Devil Is In The Detail

One of the aspects of politicians that never ceases to amaze me is their natural herding instincts, to mix my metaphors here, whilst they might sail under different flags they all ultimately belong to one navy. The differences only surface during PMQ's and in the lead-up to a General Election. It also never ceases to amaze me how little attention they pay during those crucial moments when we, as their salary payers and electors, are crying out for leadership.

The Conservative party have been spectacularly inept as an opposition, even their most ardent supporters would have problems arguing otherwise. They seem to have hidden, in much the same way that Labour followers have hidden, behind a series of excuses over the economy for example, I can only conclude that the Conservative party know that things are going to get worse before they get better and that there's no point rocking the boat when you've left all the life jackets in the harbour masters garage.

As we have recently entered a nex tax year (2010-11) the new tax regime has kicked in. As I have pointed out before one aspect of successive Labour Governments (the Conservatives haven't won an election for more than a generation now) has been the way they have slipped legislation onto the books without anybody noticing because they have announced changes so far in advance. As at 6th April 2010 one of the more craftier pieces of legislation slipped its moorings and eased its way into the main shipping channel without a murmur from anybody, we now have an effective top rate of income tax of 60%. Okay it may only be what is known as a 'marginal rate' in the 'business' but it's there.

The changes to the tax rates announced in 2009 and confirmed in the 2010 pre-budget report effectively mean that the rate of tax moves up to 60 percent as a result of the changes to the personal allowance before moving down to 40 percent and then finally up to 50 percent. It's too mind numbingly dull to explain all the nuances but the gist of it is this:


Taxable income of £100,000 to £112, 950 - effective marginal rate of tax 60 percent
Taxable income of £112,951 - £149,999 - marginal rate of tax is 40 percent
Taxable income of £150,000 onwards - marginal rate is 50 percent


Now I don't know about you (not you Span obviously) but I'm not affected by this as I earn below £113,000 (well below in fact) but the principal of a lot of the Labour Governments period in office is based on the idea that if you announce something far enough in advance people will forget about it and also as it's 'only' a marginal rate you can claim to only have a 50% top rate of income tax. Marvellous isn't it.