MP SAYS SCRAPPING THE BEDROOM TAX IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO
Local MP, Sandra Osborne, has welcomed Labour’s decision this week to scrap the Bedroom Tax, saying it will give hope to the many disabled and vulnerable people in this area who have been unfairly hit by David Cameron’s cruel tax.
The Bedroom Tax hits 80,000 Scots, over 50,000 of them disabled. For the vast majority of those affected, there is nowhere smaller to move to, hitting vulnerable people with an average bill of £720 a year through no fault of their own. Instead of reducing the housing benefit bill, there is now a real risk the Bedroom Tax will cost more than it saves.
Sandra said: “Scrapping the Bedroom Tax is absolutely the right thing to do.
“The Bedroom Tax tells you all you need to know about how out of touch David Cameron is, targeting the most vulnerable whilst handing out tax cuts to the nation’s millionaires.
“It doesn’t have to be this way.
“I never had any doubt that Labour would make this commitment to scrap the Bedroom Tax. However, our first priority was to oppose the Tory proposal to bring it in and then, when they went ahead anyway, to help local councillors do all they could to support those hit by it. I will continue to support local groups campaigning against it until we get a Labour Government in place to scrap it once and for all ”
The next Labour Government will repeal the Bedroom Tax without extra borrowing. To cover the £470m cost of repealing the Bedroom Tax, funds have been earmarked from:
· reversing George Osborne’s recent tax cut for hedge funds announced in Budget 2013;
· reversing George Osborne’s shares for rights scheme which has been rejected by businesses, has opened up a tax loophole and will lead to £1bn being lost to the Exchequer according to the Office for Budget Responsibility; and
· tackling disguised employment in the construction industry.
Sandra said: “I think most ordinary people will think Labour’s plans to scrap the Bedroom Tax are sensible and fair.
“The tax cuts for hedge funds introduced earlier this year cannot be a priority when disabled people are being plunged into debt. The Bedroom Tax is a cruel and unfair policy that hits the vulnerable and what’s more risks costing more than it saves. That is just not the kind of society most people want to live in.”
Sandra Osborne
Local MP, Sandra Osborne, has welcomed Labour’s decision this week to scrap the Bedroom Tax, saying it will give hope to the many disabled and vulnerable people in this area who have been unfairly hit by David Cameron’s cruel tax.
The Bedroom Tax hits 80,000 Scots, over 50,000 of them disabled. For the vast majority of those affected, there is nowhere smaller to move to, hitting vulnerable people with an average bill of £720 a year through no fault of their own. Instead of reducing the housing benefit bill, there is now a real risk the Bedroom Tax will cost more than it saves.
Sandra said: “Scrapping the Bedroom Tax is absolutely the right thing to do.
“The Bedroom Tax tells you all you need to know about how out of touch David Cameron is, targeting the most vulnerable whilst handing out tax cuts to the nation’s millionaires.
“It doesn’t have to be this way.
“I never had any doubt that Labour would make this commitment to scrap the Bedroom Tax. However, our first priority was to oppose the Tory proposal to bring it in and then, when they went ahead anyway, to help local councillors do all they could to support those hit by it. I will continue to support local groups campaigning against it until we get a Labour Government in place to scrap it once and for all ”
The next Labour Government will repeal the Bedroom Tax without extra borrowing. To cover the £470m cost of repealing the Bedroom Tax, funds have been earmarked from:
· reversing George Osborne’s recent tax cut for hedge funds announced in Budget 2013;
· reversing George Osborne’s shares for rights scheme which has been rejected by businesses, has opened up a tax loophole and will lead to £1bn being lost to the Exchequer according to the Office for Budget Responsibility; and
· tackling disguised employment in the construction industry.
Sandra said: “I think most ordinary people will think Labour’s plans to scrap the Bedroom Tax are sensible and fair.
“The tax cuts for hedge funds introduced earlier this year cannot be a priority when disabled people are being plunged into debt. The Bedroom Tax is a cruel and unfair policy that hits the vulnerable and what’s more risks costing more than it saves. That is just not the kind of society most people want to live in.”
Sandra Osborne