With Britain’s public debt set to hit £1,000 billion next year, public spending will soon account for half the economy – and workers will spend a larger chunk of their year earning the money to meet the interest payments arising from this massive debt.
Chartered accountants Smith & Williamson say Tax Freedom Day, when workers stop working to pay tax bills and start working for themselves, fell on May 14 this year. But when massive interest charges are taken into account we had to work until June 25 before the costs of Government borrowing were met. Since then, money earned is for workers to spend on themselves. After the Brown spending boom of 2000-2005, the Financial Times said this week, “the State will soon be larger than the taxpayers’ willingness to fund it”.
Helen Demuth, tax director at Smith & Williamson, says: “Every taxpayer should invest time and effort to ensure they don’t pay over the odds.”
