Today is the day that VAT moves up to 20%. The BBC is not happy about this and gave Alan Johnson a hassle free canter earlier this morning with the usual disingenuous amnesiac Labour propaganda. Then wee Georgie Osborne was on just after 8am for a verbal roasting for having the audacity to try and balance the books. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in the least happy about this permanent increase in VAT HOWEVER the BBC seem to have forgotten why such drastic measures are necessary. Had Osborne decided to go for deeper cuts (My preference) in order to hold VAT down, the BBC would have shrieked at the awfulness of it all! So whatever Osborne did he was going to be damned. Now, it’s not that I object to the Chancellor being given a tough grilling, in fact I welcome this. But during the long Labour years, when taxes were also hiked in all sorts of ways, I don’t recall the BBC getting so vexed about taxes. It is this contradiction that is so offensive – as the BBC parrots Labour economic incoherence as if it were fact whilst wiping clean the things that happened between 1997 and 2010. Their revisionism combined with the sudden interest in raised taxes cuts to the issue of bias.
TAXING TIMES
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Yes Radio 5 had some guy on (some accountancy firm) very early who I’m sure the BBC were hoping would tear Osborne apart, but he basically stated that whilst raising VAT was a regressive tax Osborne is right to get the deficit down so that the money markets don’t pull the plug on us, funnily enough as he said that the BBC ‘ran out of time’
I’ve been hearing the “we’ve run out of time” line a lot more recently. They’re struggling to hide their bias now.
It’s a live broadcast version of ‘closed for comments’ online.
Tinkers.
Unique ones.
bBC motto ‘Ingsoc it’s what we do!’
(Ingsoc – 1984: the political history of Oceania that is being continually rewritten to explain away ‘Labours/bBC’ calamitous errors.)
I agree with DV and hate the VAT but when I think about Brown’s relenntless and forever increasing stealth tax and spends, it seems to me like an illness or a compulsion had got a grip of him – and still has a grip of him, as believe it or not, he is still banging on about raising money, but this time globally and not just from the poor fools of this country.
You must remember, he has only got fifty days to save the world…
I didn’t catch Alan Johnson’s interview. Was he asked what taxes he would increase instead of VAT, or what spending he would cut? And if he was, was he simply allowed to waffle without actually answering the question?
The reason I ask is that I well remember when Labour was in power that if the Tories objected to any tax increase, they were immediately pressed as to what they would do instead, or told they had a “black hole” in their calculations. With the BBC giving every opportunity to Labour to do so and headlining these claims. I haven’t yet heard Labour pressed on this issue, amidst all the fuss about the VAT increase.
As an accountant, I was advising my clients this time last year that VAT would go up to at least 20% whoever won the election. It was obvious to anyone with any qualification in finance and the fact that Labour are allowed to pretend they wouldn’t have done it really pi**es me off. Although that says as much about the useless Tories as it does about the BBC.
I heard that Johnson (the great economic genius) had suggested raising income tax by 1p, which of course only collects about 2-3 billion, wow that’s really going to take a chunk out of the 150 billion we borrow every year.
Liebour are clueless, they’ve got a knob end as shadow chancellor and a mong as leader. No no change then.
Income tax is worse than vat for less benefit. It’s also a non-avoidable tax (unless you get paid cash in hand).
VAT is only regressive if you buy stuff that has VAT applied to it, kids clothes, basic foods do not come under VAT. In austere times if you can’t afford something, don’t buy it.
Those with the fluid portfolio’s will prop-up the country by continuing to consume.
VAT may not be applied to food, but it is to fuel. When fuel prices increase so do food prices.
But the BBC allow all sorts of idiots to express the view on phon-ins that rather than raise VAT we could…. raise top rate of income tax to 60%, just stop all tax evasion… none of these would get near to addressing the deficit but let them have their say as everyone’s views are as valid as anyone elses.
If I understood alan, buffoon, johnson correctly his cunning plan would be to raise National Insurance and continue spending at the bewildering levels his socialist mates had grown so fond of. The buffoon’s reasoning seemeed to be that we could eliminate the debt and deficit through growth of the economy. Why are socialists so thick?
‘Was he asked what taxes he would increase instead of VAT, or what spending he would cut?’
Yes. Surprisingly.
‘And if he was, was he simply allowed to waffle without actually answering the question?’
Also yes. If less surprisingly.
Mind you, he was being ‘interrogated’ by the fragile Sian, who would be out of her depth standing in a microscope slide sample.
BBC Critical of tax rises? They were pleased, as can be seen here: http://bbc.in/i6LNUE
Look at the Pravda style graphic at the top with “Uncle Joe” Gordon Brown surrounded by happy tax hike beneficiaries. Check out the vox pop where every contributor LIKES the tax-rising budget.
Yes but that was to piss away on the NHS, not to pay off the greedy bankers and their hedge fund pals…
Unsurprisingly, no-one asked Osborne why, if he requires around £13 bn a year, he doesn’t get it from his climate change pocket (£19bn per year for the next 40 years) or substantially from the overseas “aid to kleptocrats” budget (£9 bn annually).
I don’t get the sense that the case for slicing straight across everything rather than ringfencing some very sizeable spends, was ever properly put. Political calculation ruled it out, I expect.
The BBc is really making a meal out of this and failing lol ,as someone stuck at the very bottom of the financial heap [stuck in the industrial power house of Wales!! 😛 ] this tax apparently will fall disproportionately on me and mine! but I know that! taxes always do and to pretend as Labour is being allowed to on the BBc that there is another way is utter donkey dangles!
That’s the main reason I don’t like VAT and especially don’t like a high rate of VAT on certain everyday items and necessities.
Have just seen the item discussed on BBC News. It went pear shaped from the start as they went to the shopping centre in Manchester where the reporter points out, people were still shopping (quite what were they hoping for?)
And then to comment further on it who did they bring out? The Economics Professor Emeritus – Brendan Barber of the TUC. Hmmm I wondered what flavour he would bring to it. I mean what could he really observe? This was the guy who was made to look a total fool on the Channel 4 documentary on the 4 trillion pound nightmare. He made a fool of himself when it was pointed out that lowest earners could still buy items such as food and children’s clothing at no extra cost which was the lowest earners core need.
Only then did the reporter “feed” him a question on his view on the impact of jobs. Well his response was hardly likely to be breaking news was it?
Evan Davies clearly felt that Johnson was utterly clueless and didn’t even understand the basic economic principle they were discussing. But he still treated the Labour man with kid gloves when he should have laid into him and been honest with the audience about what was going on. Instead, he let Johnson babble, then gently tried to reel him back in, then let him babble on some more, without making it clear that Johnson literally had no idea what they were actually talking about. If it was a Tory, he would have been on the attack instead of affecting a friendly laugh when trying to gently correct Johnson.
Labour has put someone horrifically unqualified into the most important Shadow position, and the BBC is letting it slide.
‘Labour has put someone horrifically unqualified into the most important Shadow position, and the BBC is letting it slide.’
Seems more like they are extending their perceived role as actual effective ‘opposition’ as Labour proves ever more inept from the top down.
Coaching hapless shadow ministers seems to be stretching impartiality a smidge mind, even for Aunty’s self-justifying social engineers.
Shame DG, Helen et all have all shut down their blogs to discuss such matters, or some might be moved to comment.
So, according to the BBC’s VAT rate rises: Your stories, there is 100% opposition to the rise in VAT. The nation is angry.
The article begins:
The standard rate of VAT has risen from 17.5% to 20% as the government looks to boost tax revenues to cut its deficit.
(“Its” deficit? Shouldn’t that be “the UK’s deficit”? Or, apportioning due responsibility, “Labour’s deficit”?)
Then there’s one of those sentences that sounds as if it’s going to say ‘some say one thing, while others take an opposing view’ but, being the BBC, it turns out that both groups are hostile to the move:
Business groups have warned that retailers will be hit by the increase, while opponents of the rise have said the poorest will be hit hardest.
Then we get the views of six BBC News website readers and…guess what?…they too are all angry about the rise in VAT.
A young mum finds it “genuinely depressing”, “just horrific” and “a smack in the face” (“Why burden families when it’s banks and big companies who are to blame?”).
A businesswoman is “scared about the future” because “this will be the death of many small businesses”.
A businessman is going to face “hassle” as a result.
Another businessman tells us “we’ll have to make cuts to stay in business” and, in the next paragraph, tells us “we’ll have to make cuts to stay in business.”
Andy from Rotherham “would like to see how David Cameron would survive on this. The richer get richer and the poorer get poorer.”
And “vulnerable” James from Surrey complains of the “harshness of the VAT rise”, adding “We are very grateful that the working tax credit and the child tax credit, established by Labour, are helping us to stay afloat.”
Who wrote this article? Ed Balls? Yvette Cooper? Are they doing some work experience at the BBC?
No-one is exactly going to be ecstatic about this hike in VAT, but some of the vox-pops even the BBC has been quoting (as on last night’s World Tonight) show that there are plently of people who add with a sigh that they suppose that it probably had to be done (to get the deficit down).
The contrast with the article Kendall links to above couldn’t be greater.
And “vulnerable” James from Surrey complains of the“harshness of the VAT rise”, adding “We are very grateful that the working tax credit and the child tax credit, established by Labour, are helping us to stay afloat.”
Who wrote this article? Ed Balls? Yvette Cooper? Are they doing some work experience at the BBC?
Just commented on another post featuring our James, who for a vulnerable little tyke seems to write like a bad political PR hack, if not created by or at least passed through by a very credulous BBC researcher.
I’m a surprised that the many worthy facets of the very caring, human and dynamic Ed Miliband MP are not also cited.
Unique.
The 6pm TV news was just as bad and failed to point out that VAT is not levied on the real essentials that keep us all alive. That is our food.
A passing reference to a loaf of bread was about it. Fuel VAT is not good but it does raise money cheaply and quickly which the government needs to pay it’s way.
One thing is really puzzling me. Vast amounts of money have been pumped into the system. Yet manufactured goods are not really showing any inflation. You can get a good deal if you just ask for it. Essentials are rising perhaps but that seems to be it.. Are we really in a deflationary spiral? And just do not yet realise it. It makes no sense to me. Where has the money created gone ?
The bBC want to cut tax and particularly target regressive tax.
Don’t make me laugh.
Perhaps they will campaign for the most regressive tax in the UK to be abolished and three and a half billion of tax cuts made then.
How?
Abolish the bBC Licence Fee AKA Poll Tax.
Simples.