Message from Nick Clegg: Delivering fairer tax

The new tax year has just started and that means Liberal Democrat tax reforms are coming into effect. From now on, more of the money people earn will go into their pockets and less will go to the taxman.

That's because we've raised the point at which you start paying income tax. Over 20 million people will now pay £600 less than they did under Labour. In households where two people are working, that’s an extra £1200 a year. £1200 to cover energy bills, or mortgage repayments, or to go towards a family holiday. And next April it’ll go up again. The vast majority of British taxpayers won’t pay a penny of income tax on the first £10,000 they earn. Millions of the lowest earners won’t pay any at all.

This is real help in tough times and it wouldn’t have happened without the Liberal Democrats.

Of course, the new 45p upper tax rate – down from 50p – is also coming into effect. But don’t let Labour pull the wool over people’s eyes. They may complain now, but of the 13 years they were in power, the 50p rate was in place for just 36 days.

In fact, for most of the time their top tax rate was 40p. Not 50p. Not 45p. But 40p - 5p less than now. And under Labour a cleaner would pay a higher rate of tax on their wages than a hedgefund manager selling their shares - a gross unfairness we have fixed.

What matters most today is that millions of people feeling the pinch will see their income tax cut – a promise from the Liberal Democrats in opposition, delivered by us in government.