Cut the tax credits for the rich

Every morning I read blogs, and newspaper articles from across the political spectrum. I hope that it helps me to be politically informed. I tend to read broadsheets because they tend to have better thought out arguments against the reactionary ideas used in tabloids. So I very rarely read pages from the Daily Mail. I now know why.

This morning Dominic Sandbook makes the point that David Cameron is planning to make enemies of the middle classes by making them pay a lot more and take away their tax credits. How ridiculous. Anyone knows that the middle classes are the lifeblood of Tory sentiment.

Lets state firstly that Labour has through many many years of stealth piled tax upon tax on the middle classes. Some has been redistributed to the poor which is good thing, but a lot of it has gone on big Government schemes which tend to waste money and have very little to show for themselves. During that time the rich have got immesurably richer.

So when the Tories make it to number 10, the long term plan must and will be to bring the tax system to some kind of balance. It is the middle classes which generate the wealth in this country, and the over taxing of this section of society has led to a reduced tax take generally as many try to opt out of the Government's complicated regime. If there is only one lesson to learn from the 80's on tax, it is that the simpler and lower the taxes, the greater tax take.

David Cameron has, however, said that in Labour's debt crisis everyone will have to pay their fair share. Fair enough. I expect all taxes to rise, probably through increased VAT. I hate it, but I'll even accept a couple of pence on Income tax for a few years.

Taking away tax credits for those earning greater than £50,000 seems to be taxing Dominic's brain rather too much for he has forgotten the big question. Why on earth should anybody on £50K need tax credits. It is a sign that something has gone greatly wrong. It is symptomatic of the fact that the Government thinks that our money actually belongs to them so they can do with it what they will. We should not be taxed so highly that we have to be given handouts just so we can get by!

I expect David Cameron to start tackling these anomalies and to reduce the state's intervention in our bank accounts. I expect him to reduce taxes on jobs and reverse the planned NI raise, and later to reverse the 50% tax rate. The tax system needs to be simpler and through simplification I will then expect to see more money in the bank accounts of the middle classes and a widening of incentives to entrepreneurs.

When we have a balanced budget, lower and fairer taxes and good growth I will know that David Cameron has done the job that I will have asked of him. The years of Labour mismanagement will have rolled away and we can have bright future once again. Let's hear no more about David Cameron being a follower of Ted Heath!

Squiffy.