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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Lib Dems push for income tax cut | Lib Dems push for income tax cut |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Liberal Democrats are to vote on plans to lower the basic rate of income tax by four pence in the pound. | Liberal Democrats are to vote on plans to lower the basic rate of income tax by four pence in the pound. |
| Treasury spokesman Vince Cable is also calling for council tax to be abolished and replaced with a local income tax. | Treasury spokesman Vince Cable is also calling for council tax to be abolished and replaced with a local income tax. |
| The Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton is to vote on increasing "green" taxes, including replacing air passenger tax with a tax on flights. | The Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton is to vote on increasing "green" taxes, including replacing air passenger tax with a tax on flights. |
| Mr Cable has denied that his plans will "hammer" the rich, but insists most families would be better off. | Mr Cable has denied that his plans will "hammer" the rich, but insists most families would be better off. |
| 'Fairer and greener' | 'Fairer and greener' |
| He has also said that the overall tax burden will not be raised by a Lib Dem government. | He has also said that the overall tax burden will not be raised by a Lib Dem government. |
| Mr Cable told the conference that Prime Minister Gordon Brown, when chancellor, had presided over "massive inequalities of income and wealth". | |
| He said: "I don't accept the argument that council tax is the basis for some kind of progressive taxation on property. | |
| "It's a system where, if you have a £30m house, you can pay the same council tax as a pensioner couple living in a bungalow. | |
| "You can live on the opposite side of the road and live in a different borough, paying twice the level of income tax." | |
| Lord Newby, chairman of the Lib Dem policy working group, told the conference that, under the local income tax plans, people earning £250,000 a year would pay three times as much as under council tax. | Lord Newby, chairman of the Lib Dem policy working group, told the conference that, under the local income tax plans, people earning £250,000 a year would pay three times as much as under council tax. |
| Those earning £15,000 would pay a third of what they are now charged, he said, adding: "This is fairness Lib Dem-style." | Those earning £15,000 would pay a third of what they are now charged, he said, adding: "This is fairness Lib Dem-style." |
| He said: "The tax system can be made fairer, simpler and greener, and we know how to do it." | He said: "The tax system can be made fairer, simpler and greener, and we know how to do it." |
| Supporters of the tax on flights say it will act as a deterrent to airlines flying near-empty planes, unlike air passenger tax. | Supporters of the tax on flights say it will act as a deterrent to airlines flying near-empty planes, unlike air passenger tax. |
| The motion also proposes raising the threshold at which inheritance tax is payable to £500,000 and reforming "regressive" stamp duty on homes, so that "all those buying properties up to £500,000 in value pay less than at present". | The motion also proposes raising the threshold at which inheritance tax is payable to £500,000 and reforming "regressive" stamp duty on homes, so that "all those buying properties up to £500,000 in value pay less than at present". |
| Mr Cable is promising to "simplify" the taxation system, with tax return forms reduced to the size of a "postcard". | Mr Cable is promising to "simplify" the taxation system, with tax return forms reduced to the size of a "postcard". |
| On Sunday, Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said of Labour's time in power: "The people at the top have done very well. In fact, they've done too well. | On Sunday, Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said of Labour's time in power: "The people at the top have done very well. In fact, they've done too well. |
| "The division between rich and poor has become too great and it's time for it to be redressed." | "The division between rich and poor has become too great and it's time for it to be redressed." |
| Sir Menzies said replacing council tax with a local income tax would mean those households earning more than about £70,000 a year paying more. | Sir Menzies said replacing council tax with a local income tax would mean those households earning more than about £70,000 a year paying more. |