Tax and education
Barry Crossland, Elland
ORDINARY tax payers are now paying the highest rate of tax since the 1940s, yet the funding of public services is inadequate.
It irritates when all the recent Prime Ministers and Chancellors, from privileged backgrounds, received free university education but are unable to provide it for today’s young people.
I come from a financially poor family and had to leave school at 16. Education was my route out of poverty, acquiring a couple of masters degrees and a certificate of education on my journey. After starting in the chemical industry I moved into education and finally ended up running my own small business.
When I was running my business, VAT, income tax, insurance premium tax, road tax, fuel tax resulted in Government collecting more money than I earned. I encouraged my children and grandchildren to get a good education. Both my daughters and eldest two grandchildren are graduates. However, my eldest grandson, a junior doctor, would have entered the NHS with £67,000 of debt, but for my support. I am very proud of my grandson who has spent most of his early career helping Covid patients. He was putting in 12 hour shifts, including Christmas Day and Boxing Day, whilst Boris and Co. partied. My income is from a state pension and a teachers pension, but with a modest Green lifestyle this was perfectly adequate. However, over the past eight years 30 per cent of my income has been used to help my grandchildren and I also have three more grandchildren in their teens. I believe in fairness and to ensure that they all get equal support I have a grandchildren’s spreadsheet.
Many families are worse off than myself but I wish adults would realise that their present situation is a direct consequence of political and economic decisions. Local elections will take place in May and I hope that everyone will be responsible and vote. There is a clear choice. If you want to be led by a liar and a group of selfcentred individuals then vote
Tory. If you want a fairer society and your grandchildren to have a planet fit to live on then vote Green.
Ordinary tax payers are now paying the highest rate of tax since the 1940s, yet the funding of public services is inadequate. B CROSSLAND