Lib Dems: More tax for middle classes

The middle classes should be prepared to pay a little more to create a decent society, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has said.

He conceded that about a third of households would end up paying more tax under his party's proposals to introduce a local income tax.

But he said replacing the council tax would benefit those who needed it most, such as the elderly.

Speaking on the eve of his keynote party conference speech, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There is a big political argument to be had, it really goes to the heart of the matter.

"Do the middle classes feel that we can afford as a society, and that they can afford in terms of their incomes and attitude and aspirations, to carry on with declining public services over which people don't feel they have enough input and control and higher costs that have already been loaded on them and their families for example the costs of caring for elderly relatives, or financing their children through tertiary, university education?

"What kind of society do we want and are we all in it together? Our answer is that we want a better society, a more opportunistic society, but we can only get that if we are all in it together."

Defending this week's conference vote to scrap the council tax, he added:

"We voted to scrap the council tax because of its regressive nature and that will be a big saving for a lot of people.

"If you are one of the poorer-income pensioners you will particularly be the big gainer because at the moment you are being clobbered.

"We estimate that around three households out of ten will end up paying more but they will end up paying more on the basis that the income earners within those households will be contributing based on their ability to pay not the arbitrary set means which is the council tax. That's fairer and I think that's going to be popular."

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