Farron welcomes news in budget that 200,200 Cumbrians will get tax cut in April
South Lakes MP Tim Farron has welcomed the news in today's budget that 200,200 people in Cumbria will be receiving a tax cut thanks to the Liberal Democrats.
The Chancellor announced in the budget that the tax threshold will be raised to £10,000 from April 2014 one year sooner than had been expected, meaning that almost 3 million lower-income hard-working people will be taken out of tax altogether.
The announced increase in the threshold by £560 and will see a tax cut for 24 million working people across the UK - taking the total income tax cut for working people delivered by the coalition over the 4 years to nearly £700 a year.
22,010 people in Cumbria including 3,860 people in South Lakeland will be lifted out of paying tax altogether in April while a further 200,200 people in Cumbria including 41,800 people in South Lakeland will receive a increased cut in their income tax bill.
Tim said: "The Chancellor has done the right thing in listening to Liberal Democrat calls for the Income Tax threshold to be raised further. 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 to £10,000 will help ordinary working people in Cumbria who have been struggling with bills and higher cost of living."
Commenting further, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander added: "When times are as tough as they are now, our focus must be on helping those on low and middle incomes. That's why we've made delivering on this promise our number one priority in Government.
"It's also why we have scrapped another of Labour's fuel duty rises, so filling up your car will be £7 cheaper than under Labour plans. And why we are cracking down on tax dodgers so that everyone is paying their fair share.
"All of this has been done while sticking to our tough but necessary plan to deal with this country's financial problems. Britain can't afford unfunded giveaways - unlike the last Labour Government, we have made sure everything is paid for."