A Norwich politician has urged the Government to take urgent action to help savers and pensioners from the effects of the economic downturn.Antony Little, Conservative Parliamentary spokesman for Norwich South, has called for income tax on savings for basic rate taxpayers to be abolished and wants the pensioners’ personal allowance to be raised by £2,000 to £11,490.
Mr Little, who is also a City Councillor for Bowthorpe ward, said: “Savers have been affected by the necessary reductions in interest rates whilst pensioners have suffered from a decade of Gordon Brown’s tax raids.
“As well as supporting pensioners and savers during this turbulent time of financial turmoil, the Conservatives will take further economic measures to help the victims of Gordon Brown’s recession.”
The Conservatives’ proposals include improving the flow of credit and saving jobs with a £50 billion National Loan Guarantee Scheme, freezing council tax for two years by cutting wasteful government spending, encouraging companies to hire again through a tax break for new jobs, reducing employment costs for small businesses by cutting National Insurance and helping them with cashflow by delaying VAT bills for six months.
Cllr Little said: “Labour’s tax and debt bombshells are taking Britain to the brink of bankruptcy. Their answer to the debt crisis is yet more borrowing. It is clear that the longer Labour is in power, the worse the economic situation will become.
“Only the Conservatives can make the long-term decisions to get the public finances back under control with the proposed National Loan Guarantee Scheme and an Office for Budget Responsibility which would ensure that no Labour Government could bankrupt the country again.”
