The future of the left since 1884

Inequality by stealth

The government is providing more financial support for the richest 20% of households than the poorest 20%, finds a new Fabian Society report.

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New Fabian Society analysis published to mark the start of the 2019/20 tax year shows how Conservative policies on tax allowances and social security have created a tax and benefit system that provides as much help to rich as poor households. Inequality by Stealth identifies how changes to tax and benefit policies since 2010 have contributed to Britain’s crisis of inequality.

The report finds that working couples now receive much more financial support from the government in tax allowances than the minimum social security available to non-working couples. In the 2019/20 tax year (starting on Saturday 6th April) a couple who both work full time will benefit from tax-free allowances worth more than £7,000, while the minimum level of universal credit for a couple without work will be less than £6,000.

The UK-wide cost of tax-free allowances for the exchequer was £136bn in the 2018/19 fiscal year, a rise of 43 per cent since 2012/13 in cash terms. By comparison the government spent £94bn on social security for working-age adults and children in Great Britain, a figure that has fallen 0.3 per cent since 2012/13.

Read Inequality by Stealth here.

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