Islington Tribune - Letters: unfair taxes fuels wealth gap

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Islington Tribune - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 20 April 2007

Unfair tax fuels wealth gap

• MP Emily Thornberry’s PA accuses me of attacking tax credits. Far from it. Tax credits are essential, because the tax system itself is so unfair (How does the big sell-off help businesses? April 13).
However, as Ms Thornberry should be aware, the tax credit system is giving grief to many of the people it was supposed to help. Just last week the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux launched a major survey into problems with tax credits.
As it knows, hundreds of thousands of people continue to suffer hardship because overpayments of tax credits are clawed back. Last year, citizens advice bureaux across the UK dealt with more than 150,000 tax credit problems.
Families are left out of pocket or even threatened with court action because of errors in the system. No wonder people are afraid to claim.
It’s not just young families who are missing out. The government’s figures, released last month, show that take-up of pension credit is falling.
Almost four out of 10 pensioners are still not claiming money they are entitled to.
The harsh truth is that after 10 years in Downing Street, Blair and Brown have seen the gap between rich and poor grow wider than ever, and the tax system become more unfair.
BRIDGET FOX
Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate, Islington South and Finsbury

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, Islington Tribune, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@islingtontribune.co.uk. Deadline for letters is midday Wednesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: