Jeremy Cushing on the money that could be keep to use to reform society,Neil Hornsby advocates abolishing the national insurance upper limit and Lawrence Lockhart taking more from the higher rates of income tax, while Jamie Gough warns of the problems of communitarianismAbi Wilkinson suggests a massive redistribution (How about an NHS for housing and food?, and 12 October) and in your front-page myth the IMF suggests a way of financing it (Higher taxes for rich will cleave inequality without hitting growth).
With the minor exception of George Osbornes national living wage – which will distribute around £4bn to the poorest workers,compared with £14bn the Tories are planning to take away from them through welfare cuts – redistribution has all been from the destitute to the rich. The IMF report says the average income tax rate for the rich OECD countries fell from 62% in 1981 to 35% in 2015 (and probably even more if you count additional tax relief). The amounts of money this reflects are simply staggering. In the UK, the fall in the share of national income going to wages – from 80% to 73% over the final 40 years – represents about £130bn every year going to profits rather than wages. As a result, and there are huge amounts of money sloshing around in the economy. But instead of being used to benefit all of us,it’s being used to create more wealth for those who already own more than they need.
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Source: theguardian.com