It’s
unfortunate that the English language uses the same word – raise – to mean two
different things in relation to taxation.
The first meaning is simply the imposition and collection of taxes; the
second is to increase the level of those taxes.
The confusion between the two has inevitably coloured discussion about
devolving taxation powers, and those who are opposed to the idea in principle
are more than happy to exploit that linguistic confusion by encouraging the
idea that devolving the power is equivalent to increasing the level of
taxation.
In that
context, it is in one sense encouraging that the leader of the Conservative group
in the Assembly has taken to pledging that, in the inconceivable scenario that he
is ever in power, his party will not use any of the new powers to increase the
level of income tax. Such a clear
pronouncement should help to clarify the difference between the two meanings of
the one word.
I’m far from
certain though that it is really sensible or credible of them to promise,
apparently in relation to any and every proposed taxation power for Wales, that
they will use the powers to cut taxes.
It looks like a knee-jerk reaction.
But it also reveals that they understand that they will never have to
deliver on any promises they make.
I fear that the
proportion of the population of Wales driven primarily by selfish motives when it comes to taxation is
higher than many of us might wish to believe, but I’m fairly certain that it’s
a long way short of a majority. The
number of people who care at least as much about what the government does with
taxes – health, education etc. - seems to me to be significantly higher. That’s what one would probably expect in a
comparatively low income economy like Wales.
An electoral strategy based on criticising the Welsh
Government for the poor standards of services such as health and education
whilst at the same time promising to reduce significantly the total amount of
money available to spend on services is a strategy which will no doubt appeal
to the Tories’ core voters, and may help to reinforce their vote. But it’s a strategy which they must surely
realise will never take them anywhere close to electoral victory.
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1 comment:
I hate to say this, but HMG in Wales has got it right in that NHS Budgets should be cut, as in any human organisation that is not threatened with real opposition there is no reason to cut out waste.
This is the case in England, where over the last year and a half I have been able to watch them operating at close quarters; of course there are good bits and bad bits, but most of the time the staff are running wild and as the Economist stated some time ago “if G. P`s and hospitals were laundrettes, they would be out of business”.
In Wales with reduction in budgets there is still bad delivery (in parts) it shows that if you tinker around the edges of the problems you get the worst of all worlds and the only answer is to start again with a blank piece of paper.
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