A £3.5bn tax cut for working people.

• Biggest single ever uplift in the tax threshold
• 21 million working people getting an extra £220 tax cut
• Tycoon Tax raises FIVE times as much from the super-rich

The Liberal Democrats have ensured this is a budget for the millions not for the millionaires, delivering a £3.5billion tax cut to average working people.

As part of the Budget, the Chancellor has announced that from next year, the Income Tax threshold will be raised further, ensuring that no one pays any income tax on the first £9,200 they earn.

In Glasgow that means 14,910 people will have been lifted out of paying Income Tax all together and a further 198,700 will receive a £220 tax cut. This is on top of tax cuts of £200 last year and a further £130 next month.

This budget shows the value of Liberal Democrats in Government. As a Scottish Liberal Democrat, I want to see a fairer tax system where help is provided for those who need it most and where the richest pay their fair share.

Raising the Income Tax threshold will help average working people in Glasgow and especially in my own ward of Maryhill Kelvin who have been struggling with bills and higher cost of living.

Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said:

“Liberal Democrats have been clear in our priorities for the Budget. We wanted to see a Budget for the millions, not the millionaires.

“The Coalition Government inherited an unfair tax system from Labour, who in their 13 years hit ordinary working families hardest by abolishing the 10p tax rate while letting tycoons get away with shameless tax avoidance.

“Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government are doing the right thing to clear up the mess Labour left behind, making sure the wealthiest pay their fair share by clamping down on tax avoidance, introducing a ‘tycoon tax’ and putting an end to stamp duty dodging by the super rich.

“Raising the Income Tax threshold is a key Liberal Democrat commitment that the Coalition Government is implementing. The announcement in the Budget will mean almost 2 million people will be taken out of paying Income Tax all together in the UK and give nearly 21 million people a £220 tax cut.”