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Can’t tell you what his marriage tax breaks would actually look like
George Osborne promised as long ago as 2007 that the Conservatives would explain how they plan to support marriage in the tax and benefit system, saying “When you come to the general election, you will know exactly what you’re voting for.”
"It’s very straightforward. We support marriage in the tax and benefits system. We are looking at how best to implement that. We think that’s how serious oppositions should proceed. We are doing the hard work, we will let know in the next few months or next year what the results of that is. When you come to the general election, you will know exactly what you’re voting for."
George Osborne, BBC R4 Any Questions, 2 March 2007
Won’t tell you who would pay the new extra taxes to fund them
George Osborne used to say that tax cuts for married couples would be paid for by “tax increases on things like pollution”. But now he says that this suggestion is “wrong”.
"Any specific tax reductions we propose – for example fulfilling our commitment to recognize marriage – will be paid for by specific tax increases on things like pollution."
George Osborne, speech to the CBI, 7 March 2007
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has rejected reports that a Conservative government could increase fuel duty to fund tax cuts for married couples. The Daily Telegraph said the Tories, if elected, would look at raising taxes on motorists and air passengers to pay for increased financial help for families. Mr Osborne told the BBC he had no such plans and the reports were "wrong".
BBC News online, 22 January 2010
Can’t tell you how he would raise £400m from tax credits without cuts for couples earning £16,000
George Osborne says that cutting tax credits for families earning £50,000 would save £400 million. But the Treasury and the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies agree that to save as much as this, he would need to cut tax credits for families with incomes of £31,000.
“The Government should stop paying tax credits to households with incomes over £50,000 by starting to means-test the Family Element of the Child Tax Credit at a lower threshold. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies this would save £400 million a year or £2.0 billion over the next Parliament.”
Conservative Party Press Release, 6 October 2009
“At its 2009 party conference, the Conservative Party proposed to start the withdrawal of the family element of the child tax credit at an annual family income of £40,000, rather than the current threshold of £50,000. An early estimate of the savings from this reform was produced by researchers at IFS and cited by the Conservative Party, and this was that the change could save £0.4 billion a year. However, the government has estimated that the threshold would have to be cut by more – to £31,000 a year – in order to save £0.4 billion.
“It is likely that the estimate from the government is more accurate, because the IFS estimate assumed full take-up of the child tax credit.”
Institute for Fiscal Studies, The IFS Green Budget, 3 February 2010, p. 168
Won’t tell you how much he’d cut this year
George Osborne admits that he has only provided “an indication” of his planned cuts for the coming financial year.
George Osborne: … so we have set out specific examples, but I am not going to write the first budget on the today programme or indeed in opposition, it would be a completely irresponsible thing for me to do and can I just say there is a very…
James Naughtie: In detail you can’t, we understand that, but you can give us an indication…
George Osborne: … well I have just given you an indication, I have given you some detail.
R4 Today Programme, 25 February 2010
Can’t tell you what he would do to help businesses invest in growth
George Osborne claims that he wants to see “higher business investment” but has no policy to achieve this.
“A sustainable recovery must be built on exports, business investment and saving.
So we set this tough benchmark. We want to see:
Higher exports, higher business investment and higher saving as a share of GDP.”
George Osborne, Speech on Economic Benchmarks, 2 February 2010
Won’t tell you that manufacturers call his business tax plans a “disaster”
In fact, manufacturing businesses call his plans to increase taxes on business investment “a disaster for us”.
Manufacturers are urging the Tories to revise their original target list of capital allowances affected by the reforms, fearing the economic recovery could be damaged if the changes penalise companies that invest heavily. “Reducing the level of capital allowances would be a big problem for manufacturers ... cutting the rate to 12.5 per cent [from 20 per cent] would be a disaster for us,” Jeegar Kakkad, senior economist at the EEF manufacturers’ organisation, said. Financial Times, 18 January 2010
Can’t tell you how he would cut the deficit faster than Labour’s tough four year plan
Despite all his rhetoric, George Osborne has refused to tell people how he would intend to cut the deficit faster than Labour’s tough plan to halve it in four years.
Mr Osborne admitted that the package he set out on Tuesday, which he claimed would trim £23 billion from the deficit, was “not the whole solution” and that a Conservative government would slash “tens of billions” from Whitehall budgets after the election.
George Osborne, The Times, 08 October 2009
Won’t tell you that just cutting it one year early would be the equivalent of VAT at 23 per cent or half the schools budget
Labour has pledged to halve the deficit over four years. Treasury figures show that doing this one year faster would require an additional £26 billion.
"We are very clear that halving the deficit over four years is in the right time frame. Halving it any faster-over three years, for example-would involve taking £26 billion out of public spending. That would mean, for example, putting about 5p on VAT, or halving the education budget."
Liam Byrne, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Hansard, 15 December 2009, column 789
Can’t tell you how he would really fund his planned inheritance tax cut
George Osborne says that an inheritance tax cut would be fully funded by a levy on non-doms. But Parliamentary answers show that by the end of the next parliament, the inheritance tax cut would cost £1.5 billion per year, while the non-doms levy would raise just £50 million per year.
Sources: House ofLords Hansard, 20 October 2009, columns WA65-WA66; House of Lords Hansard, 7 December 2009, columns WA100-WA101
Won’t tell you it means giving £200,000 to the 3,000 wealthiest estates
George Osborne says that his inheritance tax policy means that “only millionaires will pay death duties”. In fact, over half of the benefit would go to the 3,000 estates worth over £1 million, giving each of them an average of £200,000.
Source: House of Lords Hansard, 20 October 2009, Column WA66