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MP airs views on controversial tax
NEWS: News.
In a response to the recent furore over the ‘bedroom tax’, and also an article carried in our sister paper, the Goole Courier, MP for Brigg and Goole Andrew Percy has sent the following letter for the Selby Times attention.
“The article on the Bedroom Tax today was totally unbalanced. I didnt vote for the bedroom tax, and in Parliament I criticised it as being too restrictive.
“However, the Government is right to want to do something about under-occupancy.
“It surely can’t be right for the taxpayer to, for example, pay for a single man to be living in a three bedroom house whilst many families languish on the waiting list, living in cramped accommodation.
“The bedroom tax isn’t a tax, it reduces the amount of benefit paid to somebody who is judged to be under-occupying. Nobody is forced to move and pensioners, as well as disabled people who require a non-resident carer overnight are exempt.
“In addition to this, the Government has made available extra money through the Discretionary Housing Payments fund to support those affected by this, especially the disabled.
“Underpinning all of this of course is the fact that money doesn’t grow on trees and the benefits bill has risen and risen in recent years.
“We are taking more tax from the rich with the top 14 per cent of earners now paying 60 per cent of all tax, but that doesnt address the huge financial mess Labour’s debts have left behind. This Coalition is having to pay out over £40 billion each year just to pay the interest on Labour’s debts. I understand the concerns of the people affected by this which is why I don’t support it in its current form.”
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Friday 24 May 2013
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