Labour’s new jobs tax will hit Greenwich’s taxpayers with a ‘double whammy’ of tax rises, Spencer Drury, Leader of Greenwich Conservatives and Parliamentary Candidate for Greenwich and Woolwich, warned this week.. New, detailed analysis has revealed that Gordon Brown’s planned post-election hikes in National Insurance will add an extra £15 a year to council tax bills across Greenwich by forcing up local authority wage bills. This would be on top of the £150 typical tax hit to workers from smaller pay packets due to the higher National Insurance on their pay.

 
·            Compared to Conservative plans, Labour’s hike in National Insurance for employers will slap an extra £273 million on the local government wage bill across England. In Greenwich, the Council employs 8,707 full time staff which means the cost of Labour’s job tax to local people will be £1,306,050.
·            Labour Ministers have said they have no intention of compensating councils, dumping the costs onto local taxpayers. This will add an extra £15 a year to an average Band D council tax bill. Under Labour, council tax bills have already more than doubled across the country. In Greenwich, council tax bills have risen from £821 to £1,291 – a hike of 57%.
·            A Conservative Government will stop the most damaging part of Labour’s jobs tax on employers and employees. Conservatives will cut government waste while protecting frontline services. Anyone earning between £7,100 and £45,400 – seven out of ten working people across the country – will be up to £150 a year better off than under Labour’s plans. The cost of Labour’s tax rise on employers will also be cut by more than half.
·            And Conservatives will work with councils to freeze council tax bills for two years, which could save local taxpayers in Greenwich up to £197 in total on a Band D bill.
 
Spencer said:
“Thanks to Labour’s jobs tax, local residents face a double whammy – a shrinking pay packet and even higher council tax bills. Under Gordon Brown, council tax bills always rise after a general election.
 
“Conservatives will stop this jobs tax, saving jobs and giving people extra income. And we’ll work with local councils to freeze council tax for two years. Spending on government spin and wasteful consultants will be cut to help pay for the freeze. People in Greenwich face a clear choice – five more years of Gordon Brown – or Conservatives who will deliver the change our country needs.”