Reform are a think tank for fascists

The BBC today has an article discussing the Reform think tank's tax overhaul proposals. The summary is: extend VAT onto all items, including food, that are currently exempt, and also remove tax on incomes over £105,000 per year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8551492.stm

Here is the paragraph from it that tells me they are simply self-serving fascists, from the end of the article:


Households with incomes of over £17,000 would, on average, see a tax increase due to the broadening of VAT and, for higher rate taxpayers, replacement of personal allowances with a zero rate threshold. Individuals earning more than £105,000 would see a tax reduction.


To put that another way: increase the taxes on the poor and middle class, reduce the taxes of the rich. Don't forget that the rich spend a MUCH smaller proportion of their income on food than the poor, so increasing the tax on eating is hardly going to be an initiative that has a balanced effect on everyone now, is it? Add to that injustice the notion that the more you earn over £105K per year, the more income you are going to pay zero tax on. Wow, that's a neat bit of equitable taxation right there, eh? A real Robin Hood plan.

You can also read the Reform paper itself, direct from their website, here. While you're on the site, check out their staff — and particularly the consultants — lists in the About section. I'm sure a couple of them genuinely are on the side of the man on the street. Their main About page makes much of them being non-party, but these kind of wolf-in-sheep's-clothing attacks for the benefit of the rich when you look at the detail are the classic left wing fascist approach. Listen to what I say we will do, but please ignore the details that explain the effect will be the opposite.