Tax cut to help North East workers

Thousands of the lowest paid workers in the North East will no longer have to pay income tax from April thanks to changes introduced by the Coalition Government.

From next month the threshold at which people begin to pay tax will rise by £1000. This will lift the 36,000 lowest earners in the region out of paying income tax altogether, including over 4000 in Stockton. In addition, almost 90,000 more tax payers in the borough will see their bill reduced by £200 a year.

Lib Dem parliamentarians from across the North East came together at the party's spring conference today to highlight the tax cuts.

Sir Alan Beith, MP for Berwick said, "One of the key achievements of the Lib Dems in Government is to reduce the tax bill of low earners. Those who earn the least will now pay no income tax at all.

"The Lib Dems are committed to making the tax system fairer and these changes show that commitment in action."

Ian Swales, MP for Redcar added, "In Redcar and Cleveland alone, this tax cut will benefit over 50,000 of the area's lowest earners. At a time when money is tight for a lot of people, an extra £200 back in their pocket will make a huge difference.

"In the next three years the threshold will rise even further, lifting an additional three million of the lowest earners out of paying income tax. "

Fiona Hall, MEP for the North East said, "With average salaries in the North East lower than the national figure, action to help low earners has a big impact here.

"On top of the excellent news that we've had on new jobs in the region recently, particularly Hitachi and SSI, this means that many people in the North East will soon have more money in their pockets."