The Lib Dems need eye-catching policies to attract attention and this time round their neon lit policy is a 0.5% levy on houses valued at over £1million. The party forecast levying £1.1bn from the top 1% of rich property owners to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000. The tax will be collected by councils using land registers to identify which properties are liable.
It doesn’t follow that families can afford a £2,500 bill just because they happen to own a property worth in excess of £1million. But, providing the levy remains a temporary measure, the proposal is a fair way to fund an income tax threshold rise, the current level of which is unfair.
Clegg insists that the policy is about fairness, not politics; but it’s a very obvious carrot for the left, a trade-off for Clegg’s “savage cuts”.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in