Britain one of best at cutting tax for workers
BRITAIN is cutting income taxes faster than almost any other advanced nation, figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed over the weekend.
Tax rates in the UK fell by 0.6 percentage points in 2012-13, the third-largest cut across the 34 countries studied.
The only bigger falls in income taxes came in Greece, where the rate fell by 0.79 percentage points, and the Netherlands where the rate fell 0.91 percentage points.
By contrast, 20 countries hiked their tax rates in the year.
The biggest jump came in Portugal, with a 3.54 percentage point rise. France increased its income tax burden by 0.39 percentage points and Germany hiked its by 0.12 percentage points.
The figures came out as the OECD’s head Angel Gurria praised Britain’s flexible labour market.
“When you talk about flexible labour markets, it is often confused with the fact that you just want to lower the cost of hiring and firing,” Gurria told the Sunday Telegraph.
“Of course its part of the consequences, but if you do not have this, what happens is that you do not have more employment.”