This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jul/22/jeremy-corbyn-vows-to-raise-taxes-for-the-rich-if-elected-prime-minister

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Jeremy Corbyn vows to raise taxes for the rich if elected prime minister Jeremy Corbyn vows to raise taxes for the rich if elected prime minister
(34 minutes later)
Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn vowed in his first major economic speech that if elected prime minister he would not cut the deficit on the backs of the poor but raise taxes on the rich, clamp down on corporate tax avoidance and use up to £93bn corporate tax reliefs to create a national investment bank. Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn has vowed in his first major economic speech that if elected prime minister he would not cut the deficit on the backs of the poor but raise taxes on the rich, clamp down on corporate tax avoidance and use up to £93bn of corporate tax reliefs to create a national investment bank.
Corbyn – who a YouGov opinion poll said was on course to win the party’s leadership election by a margin of six points in the final round – avoided setting out specific personal tax rises, but said the wealthy would pay a little more, with the bulk of extra Treasury receipts coming from higher corporate tax revenues.Corbyn – who a YouGov opinion poll said was on course to win the party’s leadership election by a margin of six points in the final round – avoided setting out specific personal tax rises, but said the wealthy would pay a little more, with the bulk of extra Treasury receipts coming from higher corporate tax revenues.
The speech came on the same day as former Labour leader and prime minister Tony Blair said that those who said their hearts were with Corbyn should “get a transplant”. He urged the party to return to the centre as he said it would fail to win a general election from the left. The speech came on the same day as former Labour leader and prime minister Tony Blair said that those who believed their hearts were with Corbyn should “get a transplant”. He urged the party to return to the centre, as it would fail to win a general election from the left.
Related: Tony Blair: Labour will not win if it steps away from centre-groundRelated: Tony Blair: Labour will not win if it steps away from centre-ground
Corbyn pledged a progressive tax system in which the rich pay more not just in absolute terms but proportionately. Corbyn pledged a progressive tax system in which the rich pay more not just in absolute terms but proportionately. But the big issue, he said, was not the precise level of corporate or income tax rates, but ensuring the wealthy and corporate paid their fair share. As much as £120bn was not collected by the Treasury due to uncollected tax debts, tax avoidance and tax evasion, he said.
But the big issue, he said, was not the precise level of corporate or income tax rates, but ensuring the wealthy and corporate paid their fair share. As much as £120bn was left uncollected by the Treasury due to uncollected tax debt, tax avoidance and tax evasion, he said. Ahead of his speech, Corbyn said he was excited by the signs that the Labour party was turning to his ideas.
Ahead of his speech Corbyn said he was excited by the signs that the Labour party was turning to his ideas. He said if the deficit on the current account was eliminated by 2020 and the economy was growing, then Labour would no longer borrow for day-to-day spending, but would still borrow for investment.
He said if the deficit on the current account is eliminated by 2020 and the economy is growing, then Labour would no longer borrow for day-to-day spending, but would still borrow for investment.
But he added that if the deficit was not eliminated by 2020, he would not undertake further spending cuts but instead “build a strong growing economy that works for all. We will not do it by increasing poverty”.But he added that if the deficit was not eliminated by 2020, he would not undertake further spending cuts but instead “build a strong growing economy that works for all. We will not do it by increasing poverty”.
It is the first time Corbyn has sought to spell out his approach to macro-economics and makes him the first Labour leadership candidate to rule out further public spending cuts in the next parliament. It is the first time Corbyn has sought to spell out his approach to macroeconomics and makes him the first Labour leadership candidate to rule out further public spending cuts in the next parliament.
At a closed seminar with economists and trade unionists in London he said “rather than remove spending power from the economy and damage growth and future prosperity, Britain needs a publicly-led expansion and reconstruction of the economy”. At a closed seminar with economists and trade unionists in London, he said: “Rather than remove spending power from the economy and damage growth and future prosperity, Britain needs a publicly led expansion and reconstruction of the economy.”
He said: “You don’t close the deficit fairly or sustainably through cuts. You close it through growing a balanced and sustainable economy that works for all.”He said: “You don’t close the deficit fairly or sustainably through cuts. You close it through growing a balanced and sustainable economy that works for all.”
Rejecting what he described as an austerity-lite agenda promoted by Labour in the 2015 election he said: “If the deficit has been closed by 2020 and the economy is growing, then Labour should not run a current budget deficit – but we should borrow to invest in our future prosperity.” Rejecting what he described as an “austerity lite” agenda promoted by Labour in the 2015 election, he said: “If the deficit has been closed by 2020 and the economy is growing, then Labour should not run a current budget deficit – but we should borrow to invest in our future prosperity.”
Corbyn argued “growth and higher wages must be key to bringing down the deficit. Increased tax receipts and lower benefit demand are a better way forward than shutting local libraries and attacking the working poor. If there are tough choices, we will always protect public services and support for the most vulnerable. Instead we will ask those who have been fortunate to contribute a little more. Corbyn argued: “Growth and higher wages must be key to bringing down the deficit. Increased tax receipts and lower benefit demand are a better way forward than shutting local libraries and attacking the working poor. If there are tough choices, we will always protect public services and support for the most vulnerable. Instead we will ask those who have been fortunate to contribute a little more.”
He also suggested the Bank of England mandate could be changed from the control of inflation to ensuring investment in new large scale housing, energy, transport and digital projects. He also suggested the Bank of England’s mandate could be changed from the control of inflation to ensuring investment in new large scale housing, energy, transport and digital projects.
“Paying tax is not a burden,” Corbyn said. “It is the subscription we pay to live in a civilised society. A collective payment we all make for the collective goods we all benefit from: schools, hospitals, libraries, street lights, pensions, the list is endless.“Paying tax is not a burden,” Corbyn said. “It is the subscription we pay to live in a civilised society. A collective payment we all make for the collective goods we all benefit from: schools, hospitals, libraries, street lights, pensions, the list is endless.
“Our tax system has shifted over the last generation from taxing income and wealth to taxing consumption; and from taxing corporations to taxing individuals.”“Our tax system has shifted over the last generation from taxing income and wealth to taxing consumption; and from taxing corporations to taxing individuals.”
He said: “Austerity is about political choices, not economic necessities. There is money available. “The inheritance tax changes will lose the government over £2.5bn in revenue between now and 2020. What responsible government committed to closing the deficit would give a tax break to the richest 4% of households?” He said: “Austerity is about political choices, not economic necessities. There is money available.
“If there are tough choices, we will always protect public services and support for the most vulnerable. Instead we will ask those who have been fortunate to contribute a little more.” “The inheritance tax changes will lose the government over £2.5bn in revenue between now and 2020. What responsible government committed to closing the deficit would give a tax break to the richest 4% of households?”