Conservatives Pledge To 'Axe A Tax A Year' Under New Reform Proposals

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

29 January 2004

The UK Shadow Chancellor, Oliver Letwin has pledged that the Conservative party would undertake a methodical, long-term programme of reforms to simplify the taxation system should they be returned to office at the next election.

In a speech to the Politeia think tank in London, Mr Letwin called for radical reform of the UK tax structure, with as much emphasis placed on how tax is raised as on the amount of revenue that is taken from individuals and businesses.

Attacking the policies of Chancellor Gordon Brown, Mr Letwin remarked: "If increased complexity is the necessary by-product of increased revenue, then that's OK with him."

"The Chancellor's sense of his own brilliance, and of the beneficial environmental and economic effects of proliferating tax regimes and tax incentives, are another cause of increasing complexity in the tax system," he added.

Letwin conceded that the reform would be a long-term process and improvements in the system would not be seen overnight. However, the Shadow Chancellor announced that he intends to shed one tax levy every year whilst in office, working to a set of “clear and consistent principles,” namely neutrality, competitiveness, efficiency, transparency and fairness.

"We are motivated by the belief that hard-working families should be allowed to keep more of their money," declared Mr Letwin.

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