59% of voters back cuts even if they lead to worse public services. Although 63% agree that the poor will suffer the most from the budget, only 22% think that people should be asked to pay more in tax.I earn a good wage, probably the most I'll ever earn. If pain is to be inflicted by these Tory scum, I'd rather take it by paying more tax than cut public services, whether I use them or not. I do object hugely to being taxed when speculators pay very little in capital gains, and to paying for the banking bailout, but I should pay more than the poor.
The prediction is that today's budget will increase VAT (sales tax, to you Americans) from 17.5% to 20%. This really is loading the misery onto the poor, because it's applied to most items, and so they will pay the same tax as the rich on things they really need. Income tax, on the other hand, is much more progressive: if you've got more, you pay more. 1% extra income tax on someone earning £75,000 won't hurt their lifestyle at all. A 2.5% VAT increase on virtually everything you buy will really hurt those on low incomes.
I'll be protected from the VAT rise to some extent: it's not (currently) levied on books or newspapers!
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