I’ll be speaking at the TUC rally against the ConDem cuts at Central Hall Westminster today.
Why?
Because, as I might say:
If we stopped the cuts in staffing at HM Revenue and Customs.
And if we spent another billion pounds each year on tax collection.
And if we had a general anti-avoidance principle in the UK.
And if we stopped the abuse that the domicile rule allows in this country.
And if we had a proper bank tax.
And if we spent the money that the government proposes to spend on tackling benefit fraud on beating tax cheats then I can tell you this with absolute confidence.
We wouldn't get back £1 billion a year. We would get back £20 billion a year.
And that's the annual investment that we need now if we want turn this economy round to create the jobs we so badly need — and which would create the wealth and generate the tax — all the tax — we need to clear the deficit.
Which is exactly why we don’t need cuts.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
I saw your speech – thought it was very good, and well received by a packed house at Central Hall. Well done. I do hope the TUC’s attempts to bring public service workers and public service consumers together to resist the cuts agenda are successful.
I should add – that your point that tax justice, collecting a fair amount of tax from the rich, would preclude the need for the cuts is a central part of persuading the ordinary person on the street that the cuts aren’t common sense, and there is an alternative.