'Britons Paying More For Less And Less'
Updated:10:31, Monday May 12, 2008
Britain's tax bill has increased by more than 50% in the past ten years
under Labour, it has been claimed.
A report by the TaxPayers' Alliance pressure group says the tax burden now
stands at £517bn, or £20,700 per household.
When Labour came to power in 1997 the tax take was £294bn.
Taking account inflation this means taxes have gone up by 51% in the past
10
years, says the TPA.
The TPA says most of this is accounted for by "stealth taxes" or "fiscal
drag" - failing to raise tax thresholds in line with earnings.
The fastest growing tax was said to be stamp duty which now brings in
£14.3bn compared to £3.5bn - an increase of more than 300%.
At the same time, the TPA says fees and charges by local authorities and
other public bodies had been "ratcheted up".
School dinners charges had risen 50% over the decade to £1bn a year, while
parking charges and fines had risen to over £1bn.
The report's author, Mike Denham, a former Treasury economist, says the
Government has used "every trick in the book" to drive up the tax burden.
"People are increasingly beset by record levels of taxation and growing
service charges," he said.
"But there has been no improvement in services in return. We find
ourselves
paying more and more for less and less."
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