The Director General of the Institute of Directors, Simon Walker, has spoken out against complicated and high tax rates, citing the 73 per cent marginal combined income tax and child benefit withdrawal rate faced by a taxpayer with four children earning between £50,000 and £60,000.
This is a huge disincentive: some people can be paying 70 per cent, 75 per cent.I am all for a flat simple tax system – it has been shown to raise a lot more money.
The top one per cent of taxpayers pay a very large share of all the tax in this country. Flat, simple taxes are the way to do it.
He's right. We need to sweep away as much of the complexity as possible. The Single Income Tax which the TaxPayers' Alliance published jointly last year with the Institute of Directors, sets out a plan to do just that. A single rate of tax, on all income, however it's received, should apply so that above a minimum level, those who earn twice as much should pay twice as much. Everyone should pay their fare share: no more and no less.