Back to the good old days

It seems that Gordon is going to increase the top rate of tax by 5p in the pound for those earning over £150,000 a year. If he does, it’s another broken promise, another abandonment of self-determined principals. Mind you, it is difficult to be angry about the prospect of those earning this level of salary paying a little more tax if that will help us out of the economic crisis.

Tory boy Matthew Elliot, of the right wing Taxpayers’ Alliance, is not happy but then he wouldn't be, would he?  His organisation is run for and supported by a wide array of British fatcattery.

The Taxpayers' Alliance described the move as "a totally backward step".

Its chief executive Matthew Elliott said: "To recover from the recession, Britain needs to be a low tax, competitive economy, not one that punishes success. The government's strategy risks hobbling the economy even more and scaring off potential investors when we need them most."

BBC

The tax take from this increase will be trivial. Gordon Brown is not doing it for the money. That will likely come from another hike in National Insurance which, staggeringly, most people still do not understand is income tax by another name. No, National Insurance is not ear marked to pay for health care.

Gordon Brown is calibrating the electorate. He thinks the majority of the people will like the idea of “soaking the rich”. And it paints Dave and Gideon into a corner. A snap General Election is not beyond the realms of possibility. If Gordon wins, it will be back to the days of Harold Wilson, the original spinmeister, who spun before spinning had been invented.