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Gainsborough MP speaks out on VAT reduction
GAINSBOROUGH MP Edward Leigh has defended comments he made criticising the Government's recent decision to lower VAT levels.
The senior Tory savaged Labour's move to slash the VAT rate by two-and-a-half per cent this week to 15 per cent, suggesting the raising of tax thresholds as a better way of helping those on lower incomes.
Mr Leigh was forced to defend his VAT comments which were posted on the right wing Cornerstone website, and were attacked by the left-leaning Daily Mirror in one of its news links.
The Gainsborough member is president of the Cornerstone group which comprises about 30 Conservative MPs, and he refuted the Mirror allegations that he claimed poor people would 'squander tax breaks on luxury goods'.
Labour also branded the MP as the 'Tory Marie Antoinette' – the French queen who said the starving could eat cake – but Mr Leigh said his comments have been misquoted in the Mirror link.
He said: "We write about all sorts of things on the website, and we are aware that the Labour-supporting Mirror reads these entries, and in this case the comments have been deliberately taken out of context."
"Lots of people from both the left and right agree with me on the raising of tax thresholds to allow people to spend their money on what they want."
"The lowering of VAT doesn't help the poor because they spend a fairly big proportion of their income on items such as food, which doesn't attract VAT charges – the best way is to raise tax thresholds."
Mr Leigh said the Government's decision has created unnecessary extra work for shop staff and he believes a taxation rethink is needed.
"It would be much better to give the poor their money back and then they could spend it on what they want."
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Weather for Gainsborough
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
