"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Mark 12:17
The purpose of taxation is to enable government to function on behalf of the public.
The fundamental areas of government are:
1. defence of life and property by maintaining law and order,
2. maintaining an adequate food supply and a stable economy to prevent civil strife,
3. the education of the population in order to facilitate meaningful employment for the individual and
4. useful employment for the state.
To fund such activities, the government may lawfully tax a reasonable proportion of one’s employment income and fine those who add to the financial burden of government by breach of natural law. Some government is over-regulated and inhibits the entrepreneurial spirit, and some taxation is plain stealing.
The fundamental areas of government are:
1. defence of life and property by maintaining law and order,
2. maintaining an adequate food supply and a stable economy to prevent civil strife,
3. the education of the population in order to facilitate meaningful employment for the individual and
4. useful employment for the state.
To fund such activities, the government may lawfully tax a reasonable proportion of one’s employment income and fine those who add to the financial burden of government by breach of natural law. Some government is over-regulated and inhibits the entrepreneurial spirit, and some taxation is plain stealing.
Income Tax
The Christian Party aims to promote self-reliance and responsibility, rather than a dependency culture, which demeans, devalues and fails to address the value and contribution of the individual to society. The Christian Party is committed to achieving this by tackling both sides of the fiscal equation – taxation and government expenditure – with a regime of efficient government and justifiable taxation.
The Christian Party proposes these income tax thresholds.
The Christian Party proposes these income tax thresholds.
0%
10% |
tax-free threshold until £12,000 per year; unused allowance transferable between spouses - with year on year increase aiming for no taxation below a basic living wage.
for incomes between £12,000 and £24,000 per year.
|
20% |
for incomes between £24,000 and £100,000 per year.
|
30% |
for incomes over £100,000 per year.
|
Those earning less than £12,000 p.a. should be exempt from National Insurance Contributions (NIC).
We believe that this will stimulate economic growth and lift more workers out of the poverty trap, as well as encourage more efficient and creative government.
These simple tax thresholds will create a greater incentive to work and invest, and thus boost the whole economy. Its simplicity channels the energy that is currently expended by the wealthy in pursuit of tax avoidance and tax evasion into growing the economy. Furthermore, by taking the lowest earners out of the tax and the National Insurance Contribution system, the unemployed and those on low wages will be less likely to enter into the ‘grey economy’ and will also find it easier to work themselves out of the poverty trap, since all their earnings will be retained.
We believe that this will stimulate economic growth and lift more workers out of the poverty trap, as well as encourage more efficient and creative government.
These simple tax thresholds will create a greater incentive to work and invest, and thus boost the whole economy. Its simplicity channels the energy that is currently expended by the wealthy in pursuit of tax avoidance and tax evasion into growing the economy. Furthermore, by taking the lowest earners out of the tax and the National Insurance Contribution system, the unemployed and those on low wages will be less likely to enter into the ‘grey economy’ and will also find it easier to work themselves out of the poverty trap, since all their earnings will be retained.
CORPORATION TAX
The Christian Party supports a single rate Corporation Tax based on profit.
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
Capital Gains Tax should be treated as Income and taxed according to the Income Tax thresholds, with an annual allowance before tax.
INHERITANCE TAX
The Christian Party believes that Inheritance Tax is double taxation. The state has no right to a person’s inheritance and taxation amounts to stealing. The Christian Party will abolish Inheritance Tax. The energy expended by the wealthy in pursuit of inheritance tax avoidance and evasion can now be channelled into wealth generation.
BUSINESS AND PROPERTY TAX
We will replace business rates with a local corporate tax based on profits rather than on location and space. This will save bureaucracy in revenue collection.
VAT (SALES TAX)
Value Added Tax (VAT) of 20% acts as a disincentive to small business activity, and it is selective regarding goods and industry sectors. The government assertion that there is an arbitrary 20% added value on selected goods and services is not true and VAT is simply government theft. VAT should be graded and reduced to 5% and finally abolished, unless it can be proven that there is a good reason for this tax. If it must be retained, the bureaucracy associated with its collection can be redirected to establishing a fairer system with higher thresholds - such as beginning at £100-£130,000, with an incremental increase in Purchase Tax, such as 5% up to £150,000, 10% up to £200,000, etc.
GREEN TAXES
Please see our section on The Environment for our policies on green taxes.
MARRIED TAX ALLOWance
Marriage is a public good with clear public policy benefits both in terms of adult and child wellbeing. The Christian Party is committed to a tax and benefits system which encourages and supports marriage. All married couples, regardless of income, should benefit, and the full personal allowance should be transferable to allow mothers to stay at home to care for their children, without social pressure to leave the home to work or receive penalties for not doing so.
The coalition has proposed giving married couples a transferable tax allowance worth up to £200 per year from April 2015. However, this allowance will not apply if one or both partners is a higher rate taxpayer. This discriminates against single income families just above the higher rate threshold, and the allowance will hardly impact on basic rate taxpayers and those who earn so little that they do not pay any income tax The current plan is to allow only £1,000 of the personal allowance to be transferred from one partner to another. This is inadequate and our proposal will help towards the current goal of every family reaching a tax-free living income of £24,000 per year.
The coalition has proposed giving married couples a transferable tax allowance worth up to £200 per year from April 2015. However, this allowance will not apply if one or both partners is a higher rate taxpayer. This discriminates against single income families just above the higher rate threshold, and the allowance will hardly impact on basic rate taxpayers and those who earn so little that they do not pay any income tax The current plan is to allow only £1,000 of the personal allowance to be transferred from one partner to another. This is inadequate and our proposal will help towards the current goal of every family reaching a tax-free living income of £24,000 per year.
TAX AVOIDANCE AND EVASION
Our current, complex and avaricious tax system encourages tax avoidance. We support simplified tax regimes, fair tax on business, and encourage both business and entrepreneurs to develop creative tax-offsetting schemes for the wellbeing of the community. We believe that this will change the climate in taxation to encourage those who avoid tax into investing in Britain instead of giving custom to lower-rate tax havens.
In June 2013, world leaders at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland drew up an agreement to tackle tax avoidance and evasion. It is estimated that over £4billion is lost to the UK Treasury from avoidance schemes. Switzerland is thought to have attracted more than £1.3trillion in offshore deposits. After years of negotiation, the Swiss government has agreed to support a variety of global schemes promoting more transparency about its clients and banking activities, in a bid to help authorities identify avoidance. We welcome the coalition’s determination to crack down on companies and individuals avoiding and evading tax, but we believe that we need to work with business and philanthropists to use their skills.
In June 2013, world leaders at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland drew up an agreement to tackle tax avoidance and evasion. It is estimated that over £4billion is lost to the UK Treasury from avoidance schemes. Switzerland is thought to have attracted more than £1.3trillion in offshore deposits. After years of negotiation, the Swiss government has agreed to support a variety of global schemes promoting more transparency about its clients and banking activities, in a bid to help authorities identify avoidance. We welcome the coalition’s determination to crack down on companies and individuals avoiding and evading tax, but we believe that we need to work with business and philanthropists to use their skills.
Christian Party Members of Parliament will:
- Simplify Income Tax banding.
- Increase the tax-free threshold to £12,000 per year for individuals, and £24,000 per year for married couples.
- Introduce a single rate Corporation Tax based on profit.
- Remove taxation on interest payments on local savings or dividends on local shareholdings.
- Allow 100 per cent tax allowance for investment in plant and equipment in the year of purchase.
- Simplify Capital Gains Tax, treated as Income and taxed according to the Income Tax thresholds, with an annual allowance before tax.
- Abolish Inheritance Tax.
- Reduce the size of the Inland Revenue Service.
