THE Budget Statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been dubbed a bad news Budget' by Macclesfield MP Sir Nicholas Winterton.
With £110 extra in taxes on families across the Macclesfield constituency, Sir Nicholas highlighted a series of areas where he says local people will lose out:
l Clobbering responsible drinkers instead of targeting irresponsible binge drinkers. Responsible drinkers are being hit with inflation-busting increases in alcohol duties, raising £1.5 billion in extra taxes over the next three years.
l Little help for pensioners. The winter fuel allowance has been increased for the first time in five years but the increase is only a one-off for this year. Meanwhile, the burden of council tax bills is set to rise by another £1.2 billion this year, with council tax rises coming on top of hikes in previous years.
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l Harder to get onto the housing ladder. This Budget fails to address the growing burden of stamp duty on first-time buyers - half of whom now pay stamp duty. More family homes will be paying three and four per cent stamp duty, as the thresholds are unchanged.
l Higher income tax and National Insurance for many. Tax changes on National Insurance and income tax announced in the last Budget are still to come into effect. Independent experts have calculated that 3.5 million families will be worse off as a result.
l Drivers face new stealth taxes. The Government is to fund new technology to impose controversial spy-in-the-sky' national road pricing taxes. Meanwhile, family cars face extra taxes of £735 million a year, but the tax cuts on small cars are only worth £15 million a year. The truth is that 88 per cent of cars will pay more under Mr Darling's new Vehicle Excise Duty charging structure, two per cent of cars will pay the same, and just nine per cent of cars will pay less VED.
Sir Nicholas said: "The cost of living is rising fast, but Mr Gordon Brown's Government has added to it with a barrage of new stealth taxes. This is a bad news Budget that adds £110 a year to the tax bill for hardworking families across the Macclesfield constituency."
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