Speaking at the launch of the UKIP manifesto, deputy chairman Suzanne Evans has said it is the only party going into the forthcoming election to pledge not to raise taxes, with plans to introduce a £13,500 threshold for paying income tax by the end of the next parliament
As well as raising the personal allowance, UKIP says it will also raise the 40% income tax threshold to £55,000, claiming that ‘a tax originally designed for high earners should not be levied on middle-income professionals such as teachers and senior nurses.’
According to the manifesto, when economic conditions allow, UKIP will restore the personal allowance to those earning over £100,000.
The party also plans to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £500,000 per individual, transferable for a married couple or those in civil partnerships, giving up to £1m in total. The eventual plan is to eliminate inheritance tax altogether.
In addition, UKIP has a policy of introducing a flexible state pension window, so everyone can opt to retire earlier, for a slightly lower state pension, or work longer for a slightly higher pension, as is the case at the moment. Women will be able to retire on this basis at 60, if they so wish.
The manifesto states: ‘UKIP has always made the case for lower taxes and an end to wasteful public spending programmes. We will scrap white elephant vanity projects such as HS2, replace the out-dated Barnett Formula with a fair funding formula based on need, reduce foreign aid to 0.2 per cent of Gross National Income, and end our financial contributions to the EU budget.’
The party has pledged not to let large companies get away with paying zero or negligible corporation tax, and says that on leaving the EU, it would close the loophole allowing businesses to pay tax in whichever EU or associated country they choose, and bring in any further measures necessary to prevent large multinational corporations using aggressive tax avoidance schemes.
Other plans include a freeze on the insurance premium tax and on air passenger duty, abolition of the TV licence and a reversal of several key government tax proposals.
The manifesto states: ‘UKIP will stand up for Britain’s 4.8m self-employed people. There will be no quarterly tax returns, and no increase in Class IV National Insurance or taxes for our self-employed strivers.
‘UKIP’s goal is to keep taxes and red-tape to the minimum necessary.’
Amongst the party’s manifesto proposals are a ‘one in/one out’ immigration policy; a ban on women wearing the burqa; a ban on flying EU flags from public buildings in the UK post-Brexit; the return of the blue British passport; and naming June 23 a bank holiday for Independence Day.
UKIP’s manifesto is here.
