The libdems managed with their increase of the tax free threshold to £10k. So clearly it’s possible.
Old is that really true though, if you are on a £60k the tax threshold increase helps you more in terms of pounds pence than someone on £20k.
This isn’t how it worked under the coalition. Each raising of the threshold was paired to a lowering of the higher rate tax bands, so that the better paid did not benefit in the way you suggest.
Although, since the country decided to destroy the LibDems, the new government was free to change all that, so that they could announce policies that sounded like they helped the worse paid, but helped far more the higher paid. See also all the mortgage games they played.
There ARE always ways to change tax rules to help the worse paid, rather than the higher paid, but it requires a political will to do so. Neither our government, or the next USA government, have that will, even if they have the rhetoric.
Both the Cameron, and now the May, governments have been brilliant at taking the language and promises of what used to be centrist (or perhaps even left) policies, and hiding a redistribution upwards in the details of actual policies. Genius really. Mate that to some tough sounding anti-immigrant solgans and policies, and rule for a generation … unless people decide to scrutinise and challenge … but 2016 might have seen that way of thinking off for a while…
Anyway, the details of the LibDem policy, and the way it was implemented before we booted them out of government, did make sure that it wasn’t higher earners that benefited, which is why more people than ever started paying higher rate tax, even if they hadn’t had a pay rise. Don’t worry though comfy off people… the Tories are fixing that for you… the government is squarely on your side now.
