Taxes soaring for poor families

By MoneyhighStreet Staff. Published on September 29, 2008 This post currently has no comments.

Big decision
Taxes for low-income Britons are rising faster than those for their better-off peers, fuelling predictions that more and more people could seek out debt relief services this year.

A study conducted by the TaxPayers'' Alliance (TPA) found that over the last year the lifetime tax bill for poor households has risen from £233,000 to £264,000.

This represents a 13 per cent increase over the course of 12 months.

Conversely, the average family has seen the tax they pay over their lifetimes increase from £631,000 to £668,000 - a rise of just six per cent.

The findings come amid fears that more and more individuals on low incomes could develop a debt problem this year, as higher living costs and mounting payments on mortgage debt put a strain on household finances.

TPA research director Corin Taylor said: "The government say they sympathise with the plight of ordinary people, but they don''t seem to care about the massive tax burden that people have to pay throughout their lives.

"People are struggling to make ends meet, and if the government genuinely wants to help them they must cut taxes."