50% tax is here to stay says Darling
Income tax threshold for high-net worth individuals is going nowhere in the next Parliament says Chancellor
Alistair Darling has said that the 50 per cent rate of income tax is here to
stay as he traded blows with the Tories on fiscal policy.
The Chancellor confirmed the top rate of tax on people earning more than
£150,000 would remain at 50p in the pound at a press conference
today,
the Times reported.
After picking holes in Tory calculations for maintaining spending commitments
alongside tax cuts, Darling indicated that the 50 per cent rate would stay in
place for the whole of the next Parliament to fully benefit the UK’s coffers.
“It is necessary to raise this money over a four-year period. No Chancellor
would want to put a time limit on any taxes, he said.”
Tory leader David Cameron hit back, vowing his party’s spending commitments
and tax cuts were fully costed.