- New poll: Public want tax cuts and no more green taxes
- New research: Average family faces £668,000 lifetime tax bill - up 6% - and poor families suffer 13% tax rise
The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) today publishes stark new polling and research evidence that, with the credit crunch tightening its grip, British taxpayers are facing a cripplingly high tax burden, and floating voters are willing to give their vote to the party that promises tax cuts. The annual Lifetime Tax report shows that the average family face a lifetime tax bill of £668,000 at today's prices - an above inflation rise of 6% on last year's figure - whilst poor families have seen their tax bill increase a massive 13% in the past year.
New polling for the TPA shows that in the last twelve months, public opposition to high taxes has grown greatly, a massive cross-party majority has built up against green taxes, and crucial floating voters are up for grabs to the party willing to stamp out waste, reduce spending and cut taxes.
KEY FINDINGS
Lifetime Tax Research:
- The total lifetime tax the average British family can expect to pay if current tax rates continue is £668,000 at today's prices. This is a huge jump from the £631,000 lifetime tax bill we reported last year - a rise of almost 6%. Poor families were even harder hit by rising taxes, seeing their tax bill jump 13% in one year to £264,000, up from £233,000 last year. This shows that any party serious about tackling poverty must address the issue of tax cuts. The full report can be found here.
New Opinion Poll:
A PoliticsHome Phi5000 poll commissioned by the TaxPayers' Alliance panel found:
An overwhelming 74% of the public now believe that "Politicians are not serious about the environment and are using the issue as an excuse to raise more revenue from green taxes", up from 63% in August 2007. The number of people with faith that politicians are using green taxes for the right reasons has fallen from 20% to 14%. A majority of every party's supporters hold this view: Conservative (87% : 6%); Lib Dem (63% : 20%); Labour (66% : 24%), as do floating voters (74% : 8%). This explains why the Conservative Party is rapidly backing away from their "pay as you burn not pay as you earn" tax strategy.
67% of people agree with the statement "The government spends too much and therefore taxes us too much" - up from 64% in August 2007. Only 5% think the Government taxes too little and spends too little. The view that taxation and spending are too high is now the most popular view in every party and, significantly, an overwhelming 73% of floating voters agree with the proposition:
Lab Con Lib Dem No Party
Tax/spend too much 48 89 58 73
Tax/spend about right 35 5 24 10
Tax/spend too little 8 2 7 5
Asked "For every £100 the Government spends overall how much of that money do you think is wasted through mismanagement or unnecessary spending that doesn't give value for money?", 59% of the public now believe the Government wastes more than £20 in every £100 it spends - up from 53% in August 2007.
Crucial floating voters are more in favour of low taxes. Overall, 36% of people would be more likely to vote for a party that committed not to raise taxes, compared to only 6% who would be less likely to give that party their vote. Crucially, floating voters who registered no party allegiance were the most likely to switch their vote on the basis of of a pledge not to bring in any further further tax rises, with 43% supporting such a pledge and only 5% against.
For the Conservatives in particular, the polling suggests that a policy of lower taxes and no more green taxation would not only gain the strong support of their existing supporters but would appeal strongly to floating voters. Whilst 53% of Conservatives want a commitment to lower taxes, 38% want taxes to stay the same and 3% want higher taxes, floating voters have similar views: 48% support tax cuts, 34% support current tax levels and 6% want higher taxes. Contrary to the stereotype that tax-cutting Tories are out of step with floating voters, actually it is the politicians who support tax rises who are out of step. With the credit crunch, tax cuts have become mainstream.
The full poll results can be found here.
Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:
"The credit crunch has put families in a situation where they are having to economise at home, so they expect politicians to do likewise and cut back on government spending and give them some of their money back through tax cuts. Voters have also seen right through all the rhetoric about tax rising for green reasons - they know that the politicians are using it as an excuse to squeeze us for more cash. The whole politics of tax and spend has changed with the credit crunch and voters want to see politicians looking for ways to save money."
Corin Taylor, Research Director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:
“Everyone is tightening their belts at the moment, but much of the savings they make are being wiped out by high taxes. The Government say they sympathise with the plight of ordinary people,but they don’t seem to care about the massive tax burden that people have to pay throughout their lives. People are struggling to make ends meet, and if the Government genuinely wants to help them they must cut taxes.”
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