“A new era of hyper-austerity is not inevitable. There is another way.”

Liz Saville Roberts to present Tax Reform Bill to Parliament

Plaid Cymru Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP, will today (Tuesday 15 November) present her Tax Reform Commission Bill to parliament.

Ahead of Thursday’s Autumn Statement, Plaid Cymru have said that “a new era of hyper-austerity is not inevitable” and will outline plans for the establishment of a new commission to examine alternative ways of raising public funds.

The Plaid Cymru MP says that her party are “debunking” the “phoney economics” pushed by Conservative chancellors who claim that “ordinary people must suffer higher taxes and cuts to public services simply because there is no alternative”.

Ms Saville Roberts added that “choosing to enact equality is a strategic choice dependent on political and ethical values”. Examples of policies to be considered by the commission include extended windfall taxes, tax on investment and ending the ‘non-dom’ status.

The Bill is supported by nine MPs from six parties, including SNP Shadow Chancellor, Alison Thewliss MP, the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas MP, and Labour’s Clive Lewis MP and Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP.

Ahead of the session, Liz Saville Roberts MP said:

“Time and again the phoney economics of ‘balancing the books’ have been pushed by Conservative chancellors. We’re told that ordinary people must suffer higher taxes and cuts to public services simply because there is no alternative. Today, Plaid Cymru are debunking that narrative. A new era of hyper-austerity is not inevitable. There is another way. Choosing to enact equality is a strategic choice dependent on political and ethical values.

“This afternoon, I will present the Tax Reform Bill, which would establish a commission to look at fairer ways of raising taxes in the UK.  The commission would examine how to extend National Insurance Contribution rates to income received from investments. That could raise an additional £8.6bn every year. Reforming National Insurance so contributions are equalised for higher earners could raise up to £19.7bn. Ending the non-dom tax status could raise more than £3.2bn per year.

“The global norm of profit taxation on oil and gas companies is 70 per cent – in Norway it is 78 per cent. The UK government could choose to give households certainty for when current energy support packages come to an end in April. The commission would also look at ways to improve our devolution system so that works for each nation of the UK. Setting our own income tax bands in a way that recognises who profits from what sort of wealth in Wales could provide a more sustainable source of income for Welsh public services.

“There is no lack of wealth in the UK. The financial wealth held by the richest 1 per cent of households is greater than that held by 80 per cent of the population. When 34 per cent of children in Wales are living in poverty, that is morally repugnant. The UK Government may well have valid reasons to reject different ways of raising money. If they are confident of their own arguments, they would support Plaid Cymru’s Bill today.”