Laura Sandys press release
Laura Sandys says “We must cut taxes for savers and pensioners. Conservatives have called for special help for these “innocent victims” of Labour’s recession, who are suffering as the income from their savings falls. Over the long term, cutting taxes on savings would help build a savings culture and end Britain’s addiction to debt under Gordon Brown”.
Under the Conservative plans:
· Basic rate taxpayers would pay no tax at all on their income from savings, making them up to £7,200 a year better off.
· The income tax allowance for pensioners would be increased, with age-related personal allowances rising by £2,000, helping them by up to £400 a year.
· The package would be paid for by reducing the growth in government spending by £5 billion. Instead of rising by £30 billion next year, the increase would be £25 billion. Spending on the NHS, schools, defence and international development would all be protected.
“South Thanet and Sandwich savers and pensioners are the innocent victims of Gordon Brown’s recession. They are being punished for putting aside money. We need to cut taxes for them and help turn Britain from a spend, spend, spend society into a save, save, save society.
“We need change to deliver a culture of thrift at the heart of government and a culture of saving at the heart of our economy.”
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To save £7,200 a saver would need to be earning about £30,000 in interest! Even at 4% (which is 0.4% higher than the best rate available on the High Street at the moment that would mean having £850,000 capital in the account in the first place! So she obviously believes that pensioners with nearly a million in savings should be our priority!
ReplyDeleteToday we have the 2nd reading of the Gateway Savings Account – which will allow eligible, low income people to start saving and will see the Government match their savings:
Saving Gateway Accounts will promote saving for working age people on low incomes - with Government giving 50p for every £1 saved.
Over the 2 year accounts people can save up to £600 and gain an additional £300 of Government money – all tax-free.
Around 8 million people on benefits and tax credits are eligible for this incentive to save. Around a third of those will be in full-time work, and nearly half will be doing at least some work.
The Saving Gateway Accounts will be run through the Post Office, credit unions, banks and building societies.
Two successful pilots have already kick-started this saving habit. The first pilot saw the number of regular savers jump from 16% to nearly 80%. And in both pilots, 22,000 people saved over £15 million.
Labour will be producing our own plans to help other savers in the near future – but millionaires are unlikely to be a priority!