High income earners to publish tax returns

Labour would force millionaires to publish tax returns The Sunday Times reports that Labour intends to force people earning £1m and above to publish their tax returns, in a move that would affect 21,000 Britons, according to calculations by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The initiative, detailed in Labour’s Fair Tax Programme, states: “The public has lost faith that our tax system is a level playing field, with multinationals dodging tax and the wealthy getting away with contributing very little. Labour will erode this secrecy by making the tax returns of wealthy individuals publicly available.” A Labour spokesperson said the £1m threshold would include “all relevant contributions to earnings”, adding: “If the super-rich have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear.” Separately, Robert Watts in the Sunday Times predicts that a Labour victory in tomorrow’s general election would spark a City exodus and massive capital flight. He says this would be triggered by party policies including a financial transactions tax designed to raise £8bn, and marginal tax rates of up to 67%.Unfortunately Labour do not seem to understand the tax statistics. Those earning more than £150000 a year (all 270,000 of them) pay one third of all income tax. Those earning more than £50000 (all 3 million of them) pay one third of all income tax. So, it's hardly an accurate description that high earners "pay very little", especially when 46% of all people in the UK pay no income tax but expect a world class health service!