Praise for Lib Dem tax plans

9.33.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 15th Aug 2006

There has been widespread praise for the Liberal Democrats new plans for fairer, greener and simpler taxation system.

The BBC: "The Lib Dems are unveiling plans which they say would stop two million people on low wages paying income tax. The party would scrap taxes for anyone earning under £7,185 per year, while its top rate of 40% would apply only to those with salaries of £50,000 or more. Penalties on 'environmentally-damaging lifestyles' would fund the changes, including dramatic rises in road taxes for high polluting cars."

Julian Glover, Guardian website: The plans "outdo for detail and innovation anything the Conservative party has so far come up with."

Mike Childs, Friends of the Earth: "The Liberal Democrats have thrown down a green gauntlet to Labour and the Conservatives with their new green taxation plans. They are very progressive measures to make doing the right thing for the environment also the right thing for your pocket."

politics.co.uk: "The Liberal Democrats would tax the rich and polluters to pay for huge tax cuts for the majority, under new proposals."

The Times: "Tories outflanked on tax cuts for poor ... The green taxes will put pressure on Mr Cameron, who has been campaigning heavily on green issues but has no tax policies in place."

The Guardian: "Tax measures to leave low and middle-income earners more than £1,000 a year better off are unveiled by the Liberal Democrats."

Related Link:

Liberal Democrats publish plans for fairer and greener taxes.