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Yet tax cuts have not been an ideological extra; a pat on the back after the economy started growing. No, the economy is recovering because the tax burden has been reduced.
Nowhere is this clearer than the cut to Labour’s jobs taxes. We introduced an employment allowance of £2,000 a year, effectively a cut in national insurance contributions, to make it easier for small businesses to create jobs. It is thanks to decisions like these that there are 1.7 million more private sector jobs – and 1.7 million more people with the security of a pay packet. And cutting those workers’ personal taxes has left people with more money in their pocket and stimulated demand.
So while Labour used tax rises to cover up excessive Government spending, we have used tax cuts as part of a long-term economic plan to repair the economy and help Britain deal with its debts. It cannot be repeated often enough: we have cut the deficit by cutting taxes.
Labour, on the other hand, has not learned that tax rises damage the economy. They promise a new tax on the family home – a penalty on families and pensioners whose homes are worth more than a figure determined by Whitehall. Labour would increase income tax on the better off and put additional charges on the bonuses of financial sector workers. And they want to hit the elderly the hardest of all, by withdrawing the winter fuel allowance and reintroducing a cap on pension tax relief.
Those are just the rises they have announced. They have even hinted at raising income tax for everyone by 2%. Indeed, with unfunded policy commitments that cost £27.9 billion, there will be more tax rises around the corner if Labour gets into power.
The choice at the next election could not be clearer. If you want higher taxes, vote for Ed Miliband. If you want lower taxes, vote Conservative.
Priti Patel is Conservative MP for Witham
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