Tax burden 'cripplingly high'

The lifetime tax burden placed on British households has risen six per cent to £668,000, it is estimated today.

A report from the Taxpayers' Alliance suggests public opinion supports both tax cuts and more green taxes, with floating voters likely to prefer a party which leans towards tax cuts as the credit crunch takes hold.

The £668,000 figure represents an increase on the lifetime tax bill reported last year. And with poor families being hit even harder, seeing their tax bill jump 13 per cent in the last few months, the issue is becoming a serious one for political parties.

Only five per cent think the government taxes too little and spends too little, whereas 67 per cent agreed with the statement that 'the government spends too much and therefore taxes us too much'.

All parties, it seems, are criticised for taxing and spending too much. Thirty-five per cent thought Labour had got it about right, compared to 24 per cent for the Liberal Democrats and just five per cent for the Conservatives.

"The credit crunch has put families in a situation where they are having to economise at home, so they expect politicians to do likewise and cut back on government spending and give them some of their money back through tax cuts," explained TaxPayers' Alliance chief executive Matthew Elliott.

"Voters have also seen right through all the rhetoric about tax rising for green reasons - they know that the politicians are using it as an excuse to squeeze us for more cash. The whole politics of tax and spend has changed with the credit crunch and voters want to see politicians looking for ways to save money."