second opinion
WORKERS, MAY 2003 ISSUE
The Office of National Statistics' new report, “The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income, 2001-02”, shows how all taxes hit the working class far harder than the capitalist class.
The richest 20% of households paid 34.2% of their incomes in taxes; the poorest 20% paid 41.7%. The richest 20% paid only 10.4% of their incomes in indirect taxes; the poorest 20% paid 30.1%. The richest 20% paid just 1.8% of their incomes in council tax; the poorest 20% paid 7.1%. The council tax is going up by an average 13% from this month, so the burden on workers will increase.
All taxes are now increasingly regressive - thanks to Labour.