David Laws has argued at the Guardian’s Comment is Free site that the Coalition should accelerate Liberal Democrat tax cutting plans.
The government’s previous plan was for the allowance to rise in steps of £630 over the next few years, to reach £10,000 by April 2015. Clegg and chief treasury secretary Danny Alexander are rightly insisting that we look to bring forward those tax cuts. This week they seemed to attract the unlikely support of Labour’s Ed Balls. But his plan for a totally unfunded tax cut is as unlikely to convince the deputy prime minister as it is the chancellor.
The Government has so far made good progress in reducing borrowing. From the £163bn annual borrowing forecast inherited from Labour for 2010-11, George Osborne seems on track to deliver an impressive 25% reduction to between £120 and £125bn by the end of the 2011-12 year. The government will not throw that away with unfunded tax cuts which would blow half of the hard won gains.
You can read the article in full here and if you are convinced by his arguments, why not go on to sign this petition on the No 10 website calling for these changes to be implemented?
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings