Notice of Motion to Wychavon District Council, 7 November 2006

Written by Cllr Margaret Rowley and Cllr Charles Tucker on Wed 8th Nov 2006

This Council believes that individuals and businesses in Wychavon would benefit from revisions to taxation that would reduce the burden on income while increasing taxation on pollution and the use of finite environmental resources.

The Council therefore welcomes proposals that would not only make the taxation system fairer but also simpler and more transparent. As a result, Council supports measures to:

• Increase taxation on pollution including an aircraft tax based on the emissions of the aircraft, more steeply graduating vehicle excise duty for new vehicles based on carbon emissions, and replace the climate change levy with the simpler carbon tax;

• Make local taxation more accountable and based on ability to pay by replacing Council tax with a local income tax and returning the business rate to local control;

while also:

• Reducing the burden of income tax by abolishing the existing 10p starting rate of income tax, raising the starting threshold for the 40% higher rate of taxation to £50,000 per annum, and cutting the basic rate of income tax by 2p;

• Simplifying the tax system for businesses, including creating a simpler Corporation Tax structure, removing complex reliefs and cutting the Corporation Tax rate, and introducing rates relief for small businesses.