Alok Sharma, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Reading West, this week added his voice to the calls to cut taxes for savers and pensioners.

Conservatives have called for special help for these “innocent victims” of Labour’s recession, who are suffering as the income from their savings falls. Over the long term, cutting taxes on savings would help build a savings culture and end Britain’s addiction to debt under Gordon Brown.­­


Under the Conservative plans:

• Basic rate taxpayers would pay no tax at all on their income from savings, making them up to £7,200 a year better off.
  
  


• The income tax personal allowance for pensioners would be increased, with age-related personal allowances rising by £2,000, helping them by up to £400 a year.
  
  


• The package would be paid for by reducing the growth in government spending by £5 billion. Instead of rising by £30 billion next year, the increase would be £25 billion. Spending on the NHS, schools, defence and international development would all be protected.
  
  


• Over an estimated 3 million people across the South East would benefit from these tax cuts.
  

Alok Sharma commented: “Pensioners and savers across Reading and West Berkshire are the innocent victims of Gordon Brown’s recession. They are being punished badly for putting aside money and many pensioners are really feeling the pinch as the income from their savings falls. We need to cut taxes for them and help turn Britain from a spend, spend, spend society into a save, save, save society. We need change now to deliver a culture of thrift at the heart of government and a culture of saving at the heart of our economy.”