ARE you taxed enough yet? You may think so. I would say too much already - but not all politicians would agree.
It is not just that they keep existing taxes high, they actively find more things to tax because they think that they are better at spending your money than you are.
Too often, politicians see your income as money that can be taxed off you just so they can claim brownie points for spending your money on their projects.
Yes, some taxation is necessary but we never seem to get value for money.We can all quickly write up a list of wasted spending that needs cutting just like your taxes should.
Top of my list is the new mayoral charging zone that is being imposed right across the Greater Manchester administrative area.
It cost many tens of million of pounds to set up and has been mired in disputes and a blame game ever since its creation. Towns and cities across England have come up with all sorts of different schemes but the one devised for Greater Manchester is by far the biggest. The plan, devised by the former Labour leader of Trafford Council and championed by the Labour establishment, would punish businesses in Greater Manchester and beyond and ultimately lead to the cost of business rocketing. Businesses, struggling to recover from the Covid lockdowns, would be forced to pass on the costs to you.
Just as bad as making normal life more expensive, the mayoral charging zone would force businesses out of the local area and create unemployment. For utopian politicians, it is for the greater good and they will herald themselves as great champions of the workers without noticing that there are fewer workers and those that are left are impoverished.
We see the ‘under review’ signs on the mayoral charging zone signs everywhere. It cost £3m to put the originals up and another £186,000 to cover them up. This is your money Greater Manchester is wasting and it is all being done to increase the burden upon you in the future. When people ask where the money goes and why basic things like potholes cannot be fixed, you have your answer in politicians so often not sharing your values. There is no ego boost in repairing potholes and doing the essentials, but there is in these other projects.
If all this was not bad enough, yet another tax on work is being lined up. Andy Burnham, as our GM mayor, has committed to start taxing workplace parking. In a recent interview, he said: “I feel that we do need to look at issues like a workplace parking levy and that has to be on the agenda.”
He said that the Bee Network will enable a new workplace parking levy - and we all know that it is each of you that will pay the cost.
Chris Green is MP for Bolton West & Atherton
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