In June, Total Politics carried THIS on its blog...
"The Lib Dems did campaign against a VAT increase but economic support is in the
coalition's favour. James Brown from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)
tells Total Politics that these claims are inaccurate, VAT will hit the richest
worst. According to Brown, the Budget is regressive overall, in that it will hit the poorest the hardest, yet, its VAT increase is actually progressive. As poorer people tend to spend more money on 0-rated necessities [products without VAT], they will be largely unaffected by the VAT increase: It is the richest,
with the higher expenditure, who will actually be feeding the government's
coffers with a VAT increase."
How interesting the Guardian didn't mention the IFS view on the VAT rise. It clearly didn't suit their agenda.
UPDATE 10.45am: LibDem Voice has an excellent post by Iain Roberts on this.
Spooky how all this appears as the main story on the BBC news website today, too, and also with no mention, etc., etc. Are the BBC and the Guardian related, by any chance? I think we should be told.
ReplyDeleteA report commissioned by the CPAG?
ReplyDeleteShould we be surprised then at the outcome? These reports tell the commissioner what they want to hear.
Strange that, with it being such old news, the minister on Today this morning mounted a pathetic defence and John Redwood has felt the need to launch his own defence which ignores the IFS report altogether.
ReplyDeleteBy moaning about it being old news, are you accepting that the budget, overall, was regressive Iain?
Looking at the IFS publications page these appear to be new reports. They're both dated 25 August 2010.
ReplyDeleteA piece in Private Eye from many years ago, on a visit to the Grauniad offices:
ReplyDeleteEditor scrabbles under desk and discovers a rotting carrier pigeon, with a message attached to its leg.
'Hold the front page: Mafeking is relieved!'
It's also on page three of the Times, the front of the Telegraph and page 17 of the Mail. As all three are well-known organs of the extreme left, they also choose to ignore James Brown's earlier comments.
ReplyDeleteFinancial Times carries the story today and says it is a new report - but for you and rabid readers who imagine a Guardian /BBC conspiracy the story figured large on Sky news late last night. Sky / Guardian conspiracy???
ReplyDelete"By moaning about it being old news, are you accepting that the budget, overall, was regressive Iain?"
ReplyDeleteThe real question is why people use that left-wing dysphemism for fair, and seem to assume it's inherently bad!