Gordon "Cyclops" Brown - IMF states tax bill at highest for 20 years.

Well no surprise on this one. Seems that the taxing and a spending of the Cyclopedian one has caught the eye(as they say) of the IMF.

Gordon Brown has lifted taxes to the highest level for more than 20 years, the International Monetary Fund declared yesterday.

Yes anyone who works legally in the UK already is well aware of that.

In a hard-hitting assessment, it said the Chancellor's record of hitting families with aggressive tax increases was putting the nation's economic future under threat.

Go figure. Government takes all the money we earn, so people are unable to save for a future.

The Washington-based group said taxes must not rise any further, otherwise businesses will be driven away and households could be put under intolerable pressure.

Think they are a bit slow on that one, many households are already under intolerable pressure.

It also warned that property was overvalued and that there may soon be a slump in the housing market.

Well somethings got to give, no way can prices keep going upwards forever despite what Mr Brown thinks.

The IMF pointed out that Britain's tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio - an important measure of the tax burden - was now at almost 38 per cent, a level it last hit in the mid-1980s.

Ah welcome back to the days of boom and bust.

The increased revenue has been used to fund high levels of public spending.

After all the most important thing any nation needs are hoards of bean counters all on the public payroll, the soon to be brought in "cigarette police" snooping on people smoking in the wrong place are just the latest additions.

But with only two weeks before his final Budget, the Chancellor was told to rein in this spending rather than trying to close the black hole in the public finances with further tax rises.

But its Gordons way, rather than lowered or removing taxes to stimulate growth he instead finds new ways of taxing business or the public, or both.

The IMF's report will be of huge concern to Mr Brown, who is leaning heavily on his economic record as he prepares for the premiership.

The organisation urged the Government to make 'disciplined choices' in its Comprehensive Spending Review this summer.

Disciplined choices, that should make good reading. Wonder if the 30% increase they gave Mr 2' inch cock DPM Prescotts department will be on that reading list?

It said that while tax increases had buoyed up the public finances in recent years, continuing to do so would endanger the economy.

After all there is only so much money the dour Scot can bleed out of us.

The IMF said: "Further increases in tax rates would risk adversely affecting incentives to work and invest."

After all why brings jobs to a tax high nation when our rivals can do it cheaper?

The IMF warning comes a week after it emerged that British families have seen the most aggressive tax rises of any major Western economy over the past five years.

Tell me and all the other tax payers in the UK about that one.

Parents with two children on average earnings paid nearly £1,200 extra income tax and National Insurance last year compared with 2001, figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed.

Now that will cancel out most peoples pay increases over that time.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said: "The IMF has basically torn into Gordon Brown's approach to tax and spend. This is a truly awful report where Mr Brown scores a C minus from a respected global organisation."

Now George is being a tad modest there and this from a man who has a lot to be modest about, but enough on George Osborne. Hell with that sort of review were it an exam our monovisioned Chancellor would get a U for unclassified.

The IMF Article IV report also warned that last year's resumption in the property boom was raising the threat of an 'abrupt' slide later in home values.

No I am sure that Gordon has his eye on the situation, not sure if it is his good eye or not? But fear not, after all there must be some more taxes he can raise to offset that.

To make matters worse, rising wage demands and inflation could force the Bank of England into a fourth interest rate increase in coming months.

Cue lots of buck passing at that time from Gordon and co, blaming the whole crisis on the Bank of England.

A Treasury spokesman pointed out that the IMF had said that Britain's overall performance remains 'impressive'.

Still the same lying bastards that they ever were.

Tags: Tax
New Labour
Gordon Brown
IMF

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