The Government must act now and reform our punitive system. Abolishing inheritance tax would be a good place to start
There could not be a more Conservative value than our commitment to family. The bedrock of society, families come in many shapes and sizes. Yet unfortunately, for too many, the British tax system is not working for them.
Instead of considering a whole household’s circumstances, our system treats everyone as strangers and taxes them accordingly. This means two families with the same income overall face very different tax rates depending on how that income is split. At the average wage, a single-earner married couple with two children will pay more tax here than in France, Germany, or the US – and more than the OECD average. For example, a household with two adults and two children and an income of £60,000 will pay over £7,000 more in tax with a single-earner than if both adults earned £30,000 each.
You should have the freedom to live you life as you wish, and spend your hard-earned money as you want. The right to choose is crucial. It is right that this Government is seeking to support working parents, but the state actively discriminates against families in which income is not equally split. There are many reasons why families may have one higher earner but, more often than not, it is where one parent is looking after children at home.
Parents who choose to look after children at home make formal childcare more affordable, available and accessible for other parents who wish to work. And those who support elderly and disabled relatives at home bring an enormous benefit not just to their loved ones but to the country. They help people live independently for longer and reduce the burden on our health and social care services.