David Cameron pours cold water on rumoured cut to 45p tax rate
PRIME minister David Cameron has moved to end speculation that he would cut the 45p tax rate for higher earners further, to 40p.
In an interview on the Andrew Marr show yesterday, Cameron said he would use any spare money left in government coffers to “target tax reductions on the poorest in our country,” adding that politicians should “set taxes to raise revenue, not to make a political point.”
The Prime Minster was pushed to confirm rumours that he would cut tax for high-earners to 40p as part of an election manifesto pledge designed to attract voters back to the Conservative party.
Instead, Cameron said: “I want taxes that mean the rich pay not just a fair share in taxes but actually I want the rich to pay more in taxes, and so you ought to set tax rates that encourage people to earn, to set up businesses, to make money and then to pay taxes.”
He added that the 45p rate, which the party reduced from 50p, is already bringing more money into the Treasury.