To be worried about the tax cutting obsession

[SnowyLamb]

Among the leadership candidates?

I'm sure tax cuts will win them an election, but I really can't see how they're the answer to the current crisis. It feels really dangerous to me.

Even Margaret Thatcher increased tax during the recession, she didn't cut tax until we were through the other side.

Just my 2p but I think the answer to the current crisis is

a) We need better global trade post Brexit. To get those, I suspect a whole heap of things needs to happen; not least we need to stop looking like tits on the world stage. So many small-medium businesses have been unable to cope in the post-Brexit world and someone needs to be properly unpicking why and sorting out those hurdles to prevent us losing more (and to encourage more to start up).

b) We need better food and energy security to help buffer against global swings such as we are seeing now. Energy and food production, storage, processing capbility. This is a long game, so every government for 30+ years has just kicked the can down the road - and here we are: drowning in cans.

Tax cuts are a short term bandaid. They would help individual people cope with costs that are spiralling out of control. But someone needs to be looking at the long game. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone is: they are all looking at the current PMinister race and the GE in 2 years time instead.

On the other hand, lower taxes will attract both commercial and private capital, and 15% of £200 is better than 20% of £100.

Remember, capital is very fluid and fungible in the 21st century, and the UK is predominantly service-driven when it comes to the economy surplus. Brexit has shown how easy it is to lose massive companies (and therefore their tax revenues) pretty much overnight. It will be easy in the other direction too, should a sufficiently sweet carrot be there.

So, from my perspective, lowering tax is not necessarily a bad strategic decision in the current climate. But what I want to see is a well thought out plan with proper arguments for it, not just pure populism. So far there's none.

Me too OP (and we pay a huge amount of tax). I'd rather they kept tax as it is and sorted out the NHS - especially the mental health provision (again, not that we need it as a family, but I can know lots of people are struggling).

It's probably time for a labour government at the next election anyway though. They just need to make sure the looney lefties are kept out of senior government.

We've seen a massive deterioration in public services after 12 years of cuts.
If they make another 20% cut in budgets, there'll be next to nothing left.

I'm more fearful for the future of people in this country than I have ever been in my life, and I'm nearly 67.

There are really two types of tax cuts. One type are considered and targeted tax cuts, designed to provide stimulus and grow the economy (or limit the damage, at the very least).

The other are tax cuts which sound like they are considered and targeted to provide stimulus and grow the economy, but are actually just knee-jerk sound bites, designed to appeal to a very narrow band of MPs and the electorate who hold a party membership, purely to become Prime Minister.

Tax cuts or not, the UK is no longer part of the SM and thats a huge loss.

Business doesn't only look at tax rates, which are fickle, health services, educated work force, culture, ease of movement.

Problem with cutting business taxes is that their is no obligation to invest in this country, profits can easily be taken overseas.

We need investment i.e education, health, transport and with the loss of EU Horizon programs, Science and Tech.

But the biggest and best thing we could do is rebuild our relationship with the worlds richest trading bloc, where over 40% of our trade is done, not rejoin, more Norway and Switzerland.

Taken across the entirety of her shitty reign, taxes as a proportion of GDP rose.

Yes, I agree. The Bank of England must have its head in its hands. We need to get inflation down.

It's a vote winner. I'll vote for whoever promises individual tax cuts as leader and will vote Conservative again if they are put into practice.

Yes, it's really worrying. It feels like every major decision that's been taken for our country (from the Brexit referendum to the present) has been motivated by the personal political ambitions of a handful of entirely self-serving politicians. No wonder we are so screwed.

I agree. Some people, not all, are struggling. The government can't change what stuff costs. All they can do is give those people some money. Realistically, that money will have to come from other people. (The alternative of cutting government spending on something else is probably not an option. If the "something else" wasn't something we wanted to spend money on, we'd have stopped doing so already.)

If you want to do something about the cost of living crisis, you can only do that by taking more money from people who have it and giving it to those who don't. So overall you should be looking at how to increase taxes.

I say that as someone who is more of a "taxation is theft" than a "property is theft" sort of person.

I know what you mean, but I don't know if they'll actually do it.

Right now, they'll all playing to the peanut gallery. It's marketing and froth. The winner of this contest will be chosen by Conservative party members, who are predominantly pensioners and (relatively) economically inactive.

The channel to that audience is via the Mail and the Telegraph. The approval of these two papers is crucial. (Or seen as such by the candidates.) That's why they're all posting these bizarre videos with drone shots of Dover cliffs, Captain Tom and kind-looking nurses.

I'm no fan of Sunk — I'm habitually a Labour, Lib Dem or SNP voter personally — but he's at least in the rough ballpark of saying the right thing on this. The others are mostly punting make-believe.

Ooops autocorrect typo. Sunak.

On a local level it drives me mad. The local election leaflets are all about how our council tax is the lowest of the nearby boroughs - yes but we’ve also got potholes a caving club could make use of, they’re trying to knock down the local library, the play parks are all looking very tired. I recognise my financial privilege, but I’d be ok if they increased tax if it meant living conditions were improved.

Good lets cut tax and work on sorting out all the ways our money is already being wasted. NHS being the biggest example of how money is wasted. You could take Elon's entire wealth and not even all that money will fix it.

First thing we all do in households is look at our budget are we spending money efficiently or are we wasting it so same should apply to how are our taxes are spent.

Income tax cuts don't include a significant part of the population and don't reduce the inflation rate. Cutting energy costs will help almost everyone.

Empty promises. None of the have said or even thought about how they’d pay for these fabled tax cuts. They’re saying whatever they think will get them into Downing Street which they then won’t be able to deliver. I can’t take them seriously.

They're Tories, what do you expect? Tax cuts are all they have left now to win votes.

We pay a lot in taxes and I don't enjoy how much they've gone up but I worry deeply that the real aim behind cutting taxes now is to give whichever hardcore Tory PM and Chancellor in the job, an excuse to cut finding to the NHS and. enact reforms that further opens up the NHS to private business interests etc... They'll do it under the cover of "being fiscally responsible."

I would support higher earners (us included) paying more tax.

YANBU, we need higher taxes (that are well spent) instead of lower ones.

But the tories rely on being 'popular' to win, they can't rely on their policies, or their professionalism, they have to rely on lying to people and giving them what they want (whilst also dragging others for what they perceive is the same thing)

I think a lot of public services atm need a full review, and decisions to be made (positive or negative) and plans put in place, I am fed up with this half arsed effort to 'improve' the NHS, they either need to decide to cut what people are eligible for or pump the money needed into the service, at the moment they are doing neither and we, the public and the NHS staff are suffering for it.

We need a full review of our justice system, again, either pump the money needed into our crumbling prison service, or reassess what counts as a custodial sentence and put more funding into external support for those arrested for less extreme crimes.

At the moment no one is doing anything to properly address the bigger issues in this country, and I do think it's because deep down they all know it would take higher taxes to sort things out, and that wouldn't win them elections.

Tax won't sort out the NHS! It needs a proper business people to overhaul it. Root out bad cultures.

British politics NEVER looks at the long game. If you want that you need to move to Sweden Norway etc

Tbh. I'd rather more targeted spending and investment in the important things. Green energy. General Education, new targeted apprenticeships in skilled trade and nursing social care
Free degrees for doctors nurses and other medical staff, ambulance drivers
Increases in Police numbers

Than a tax cut

Don't forget tho the govt are taking in a huge amount of revenue from the rise in petrol prices. I bet that can afford a small cut. However as I said I'd rather that money was invested

I wish you could be PM @alphapie.