TAX RISES

TAX RISES

We have been stung by 60 stealth tax rises since Gordon Brown became Chancellor. Cigarettes and booze have gone through the roof, holiday flight taxes are sky-high, and even dying now costs more. Labour’s tax burden is so high we spent the first 153 days of the year working for the Government rather than themselves. Here’s a guide to some of the sneaky ways in which Labour grabs your cash.

DEATH DUTY
Inheritance Tax thresholds have been virtually frozen, leaving 1.5million families with a huge bill when a loved one dies. Mr Brown has left the basic threshold at Ł255,000, up from Ł250,000. Only half a million people had properties worth Ł250,000 in 1997 but that figure has trebled to 1.5million since.

MIRAS AXED
Mr Brown scrapped mortgage tax relief in 1999 spelling misery for millions of homeowners.

STAMP DUTY
The cost of buying a house has rocketed for millions as stamp duty has risen. Anyone buying a house costing between Ł250,000 and Ł500,000 must now stump up 3% of the overall price up front.

COUNCIL TAX
In 1997/98, the average band D council tax bill in England was Ł689. In 2003/04, it is Ł1,102, a 60% hike.

PENSIONS TAX
The Chancellor ordered an astonishing raid on pension schemes in his first year netting Ł5billion. He has also axed tax relief on private health insurance premiums.

HOLIDAY TAX
Airport duties have rocketed under Labour, slapping up to Ł100 on the cost of family holidays.

CIGS AND BOOZE
Tax on 20 cigarettes has gone up every year under Labour, adding Ł1.02 on a carton. Wine and beer has also risen under the Chancellor.

MARRIED COUPLE’S ALLOWANCE
The Chancellor abolished this tax break in 1999 in a move costing couples Ł2,000 a year.

TRANSPORT
Motorists fork out a staggering Ł45billion a year. VAT on new cars and duty on petrol combine to make drivers the Chancellor’s cash cows.

INCOME TAX
Allowances have been frozen meaning more of our earnings are taxed. National Insurance has gone up by 1p for workers and employer.

Taxes have soared by a whopping Ł133.5billion since Tony Blair came to power in 1997. That amounts to Ł2,269 for every man, woman and child, or Ł43.50 a week. Labour promised no income tax rises when they were elected. But they have still sent overall taxes rising from Ł270billion then to Ł400billion today. Britain’s bosses backed the Tory campaign for a national holiday, to be known as Independence Day, to mark the end of tax paying each year.

Since 1997, Gordon Brown has presided over 80 different tax rises.

1997
1. Council tax up 6.5% to Band D average of Ł688
2. Mortgage tax relief cut from 15% to 10%, saving the Chancellor Ł800million a year
3. Ł5billion-a-year tax grab on retirement savings by scrapping dividend tax credits for pension funds
4. Private medical insurance tax relief for pensioners abolished
5. Health insurance taxed again
6. Fuel tax escalator up, leading to inflation-busting rises on petrol prices
7. Vehicle excise duty up
8. Tobacco duty escalator up (as fuel)
9. Stamp duty increased on properties over Ł250,000
10. Corporation tax changes
11. Windfall tax on privatised utilities, designed to raise Ł5.2billion

1998
12. Married couples' allowance cut from 15% to 10% from April 1999
13. Tax on travel insurance up
14. Tax on casinos and gaming machines up
15. Fuel tax escalator brought forward
16. Tax on company cars increased
17. Tax relief for foreign earnings abolished
18. Tax concession for certain professions abolished
19. Capital gains tax imposed on certain non-residents
20. Reinvestment relief restricted
21. Corporation tax payments brought forward
22. Stamp duty on properties increased again
23. Some petrol and oil duties raised
24. Additional diesel duties
25. Landfill tax up, from Ł7 to Ł10 per ton 26. Council tax up by 8.6% for average bill on Band D property to Ł747

1999
27. Upper earnings limit for National Insurance contributions raised above inflation
28. National Insurance for self-employed people raised
29. Married couple's allowance abolished from 2000 for under-65s
30. Mortgage interest relief abolished from April 2000, increasing typical bill for average homeowner by Ł240-a-year
31. New rules to stop contractors in IT industry setting up firms to reduce their tax bills
32. High mileage discount for company cars cut
33. Tobacco duty escalator brought forward
34. Insurance premium tax up from one to five per cent
35. Vocational training relief abolished
36. Employer's National Insurance contributions extended to all benefits-in-kind
37. VAT on some banking services increased
38. Premiums paid to tenants by landlords taxed
39. Duty on minor oils, such as fuel oil, up
40. Vehicle excise duties for lorries up
41. Landfill tax escalator introduced
42. Stamp duty on properties increased again
43. Council tax up by 6.7% for average bill on Band D property to Ł798

2000
44. Tobacco duties up by 5% above inflation
45. Stamp duty on properties increased again
46. Extra taxation of life assurance companies
47. Rules extended on companies using foreign subsidiaries to shelter profits in low tax regime
48. Council tax up by 6.1% for average bill on Band D property to Ł847

2001
49. Council tax up by 6.4% for average bill on Band D property to Ł901

2002
50. Personal allowances for everybody under the age of 65 frozen
51. National Insurance rate to rise from 10% to 11% from April 2003
52. New NI band for higher earners
53. National Insurance for employers rises from 11% to 12%
54. Self-employed also rises by 1%
55. North Sea taxation up
56. Tax on some alcoholic drinks up
57. New stamp duty regime aimed at stamping out tax avoidance
58. New rules on loan relationships
59. Council tax up by 8.2% for average bill on Band D property to Ł976

2003
60. VAT on electronically supplied services
61. IR35 applied to domestic workers to stop families from reducing tax bills on nannies
62. Betting duty change
63. Tax on red diesel and fuel oil up
64. Rules extended on companies using foreign subsidiaries to shelter profits in low tax regime extended to Ireland
65. Vehicle excise duty up by Ł5 on cars and vans
66. Council tax up by 12.9% for average bill on Band D property to Ł1,102

2004
67. New 19% tax rate for owner-managed businesses
68. Six-fold increase in the amount of tax paid by tradesmen for using their vans outside working hours. For basic rate tax-paters, an annual rise of Ł110 to Ł660
69. UK transfer pricing introduced, substantially increasing red tape on British firms
70. Increase in rate of tax on discretionary trusts becomes 40%
71. Increase in tax on red diesel fuel
72. Increase in tax on red diesel fuels, including LPG (liquid petroleum gas)
73. Council tax up by 5.9% for average bill on Band D property to Ł1,167

2005
74. Cancellation of stamp duty land tax relief on disadvantaged areas
75. Tax on North Sea oil firms doubled from 10% to 20%
76. 0% rate of corporation tax abolished which had been introduced by Mr Brown to encourage small businesses
77. Council tax up by 4.1% for average bill on Band D property to Ł1,214

2006
78. Clampdown on trusts and insurance policies commonly used to cut future inheritance bills
79. Increase of Ł45 in vehicle excise duty for 4x4s cars
80. Council tax up by 4.5% for average bill on Band D property to Ł1,268

In addition to these rises the Chancellor has increased his take by dragging more and more income tax payers into the 40% bracket by consistently limiting rises in allowances and top rate thresholds. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Jun/06)