Mann: No relief for the working poor from this ghastly regime!

David Cretney MLC asks is the tax regime fair and are the free school meal figures an indicator of unfairness. He presumably is going to press the Treasury Minister on this and get the usual bland answer. I know the answer - the tax regime is unfair and people are struggling and indeed by adjusting things like EPA entitlement COMIN want to make it even more unfair:

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/iom-income-tax-fair-to-all/

Something radical is needed in the budget not the usual piecemeal ‘give with one hand and take with the other’.

Of course in addition to free school meals for hungry children we are subsidising expense account lunches for the well heeled. Where is the justice there?

I’ve a lot of time for David Cretney and think he is sincere in wanting change. However I wonder how much airing his perennial concerns is more to do with Manx Radio pretending there is an alternative voice on social issues. The station purporting to carry out its PSB role perhaps. Possibly its to hard for the media to go in search of struggling people lone parents or the poor and get a quote. The quote if they got might be to sensitive of the ears of the stations controllers!

I’m unsure how much traction such ideas will have anyway in the current Tynwald as they are all somewhat remote (and I absolutely mean no disrespect to David Creney by saying that) and COMIN are unlikely to be moved by these random interventions.

Perhaps his entreaty will resonate with some Tynwald members as they sit down to tuck in at the Tynwald canteen - subsidised of course!

Personally I doubt it the working poor and those elderly on low and middle fixed incomes are treated with disdain by this the worst Tynwald in living memory!

Bernard Moffatt

Celtic League