The Conservatives are planning a series of new environmental taxes on flights aimed at combating climate change.
BBC NEWS | Politics | Tories plan green tax on flights.
Just in case you believed that these control freaks are any different to the bastards currently holding the reins of power. Two sides of the same rotten, corrupt, power hungry coin, really.
I generally welcome this from the Tories as it opens up a debate, although I want to see the small print of what they are proposing. Monitoring an individuals number of flights could be difficult, the VAT on air fuel (without international agreement) could be easily avoided by fuelling up in other countries and regressive taxation (on spending) of this sort needs progressive measures like tax credits, public services etc – all of which the Tories are committed to cutting. The Tories talk of income tax cuts to compensate for this but this benefits (not surprisingly) those with the largest incomes. The Tories last period in office involved the biggest ever regressive shift in taxation (VAT from 8% to 17.5%, cutting the top income tax rate from 60% to 40%, etc), so when they talk of ‘massive changes’ in the tax system, they worry the hell out of me.
The Tories are nothing more than NuLabourLite. At least Labour is what it is: authoritarian, contemptuous of the public, and incompetent.
The Tories appear to think this a desirable role model, and are recasting themselves as a cheap knock-off. Why any party would engage in such a reinvention escapes me, but then, much about modern life baffles my waning faculties.
Under such a policy, my ability to visit aged relatives back in the US would be severely restricted; but that’s okay. When have ‘ordinary human concerns’ ever counted for anything with our lords and masters?
This proposal is not just illiberal; it is positively evil.