ELECTIONS: Yeovil MP welcomes tax cuts in Budget

YEOVIL MP David Laws has welcomed the tax cuts for lower and middle income earners and the help for savers announced in the Budget today (Wednesday, March 18, 2015) – the last before this year’s General Election.

The Personal Tax Allowance, which will stand at £10,600 this year as a result of the Liberal Democrat pledge to raise it at the last General Election, will rise further to £10,800 in April 2016 and £11,000 in April 2017. Back in 2010 the Personal Tax Allowance was just £6,475.

The Liberal Democrat Manifesto for the upcoming General Election will pledge to raise the Personal Tax Allowance to £12,500 in the next parliament.

To help savers, a new Personal Savings Allowance will be introduced and will mean that 95% of taxpayers will no longer pay any tax on their savings. From April next year, the first £1,000 of interest people earn on their savings will be completely tax-free.

As well as this, a new Help to Buy ISA will give people saving to buy their first home substantial and much needed help. For every £200 somebody deposits in their ISA, the government will add an additional £50. This means that a person saving for their first home can put £12,000 in their ISA, and the government will contribute a further £3,000 to help them afford their deposit.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, also announced that cider duty will be cut by 2%, helping cider farms in the South West with their tax bill.

All this comes at a time when the UK economy is growing faster than any other country in the G7. At the end of 2014 employment in the United   Kingdom stood at 30.9 million, its highest ever level. The total deficit is forecast to have fallen by a half by the end of this year, and according to the OBR, average households will be £900 better off in 2015 than in 2010.

Mr Laws said: “The announcements made in today’s budget would not have been possible, or even considered, if the Liberal Democrats were not a part of this Government.

“Back in 2010 we pledged to raise the Personal Tax Allowance to £10,000 so people could keep much more of the money they earned.

“At the time, David Cameron said that was simply unaffordable, but the Prime Minister has been proved wrong. We have gone further and raised the Personal Tax Allowance to £10,600, and today we have seen that it will continue to rise to £11,000 by 2017, a move which will benefit over 27 million individuals.

“The Liberal Democrats have pledged to go still further and make sure that lower and middle income earners will not pay tax on the first £12,500 they earn by the end of the next parliament.”

PHOTO - TOP: Yeovil MP David Laws.

Mr Laws added: “I am particularly pleased that we have been able to help savers and those saving to buy their first home in this Budget.

“The new Personal Savings Allowance will make sure that nearly all savers pay no tax whatsoever on the interest they earn from their savings. And the new Help to Buy ISA will give those people facing the difficult task of saving for their first home real help. We know people are finding it difficult to save for their first deposit, so this ISA will direct substantial financial support to them.

“We have been able to take these measures because this Coalition Government has tackled the financial mess we inherited from Labour.

“Our economy is growing, employment is at its highest ever level and the deficit is falling. There is still work to do in the next parliament, and the Liberal Democrats would ensure that those who can afford to contribute the most to further deficit reduction, but we have come a long way in the last five years.”

Mr Laws will be hoping to retain the Yeovil constituency for the Liberal Democrats at the General Election on Thursday, May 7, 2015.

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