Oral Answers to Questions

Annette Brooke Excerpts

Tuesday 24th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

I do not want to comment on particular decisions. I am well aware of the concerns that people in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency have about the prospect of Peacocks closing. It is vital that banks are in a position to lend to viable businesses. That is why we entered into Project Merlin, which has led to an increase in bank lending compared with last year. That is the right thing to do, and I would encourage the management of Peacocks to engage with the banks and other investors to get the right outcome for them and for their business.

[Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

9. What steps he plans to take to ensure that the burden of taxation is fairly distributed.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander)]

We are significantly shifting the burden of taxation away from people on lower incomes and on to those with broader shoulders. The bank levy, the increase in capital gains tax, changes to pensions tax relief and the maintenance of the 50p rate all help to enable us to meet our commitment to increase the income tax personal allowance to £10,000, cutting taxes for millions of hard-pressed, hard-working families.

[Annette Brooke]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said of the autumn statement:

“New tax and benefit measures are, on average, a takeaway from lower-income families with children, and giveaway to middle and top of income distribution”.

What further approaches will he take in the forthcoming Budget to ensure that we are all in it together, be it a demonstrable crackdown on tax avoidance, perhaps a mansion tax, and certainly more progressive tax measures?

[Danny Alexander]

Of course, the burden of the deficit reduction is fair overall, and we know that the burden falls most highly on the richest 20% of the population. However, with spending cuts needing to continue for longer—another two years—we need to redouble our efforts, both to tackle tax avoidance and to deliver the income tax cuts that we have promised, by lifting the personal allowance as rapidly as the nation can afford. Those are, of course, issues that we shall be considering in the run-up to the Budget.