Annie Shaw of CashQuestions.com comments on the latest report from Reform

"Andrew Haldenby, director of the right-wing tank Reform and leading light of the Save Our Savers lobby group, wrote an article based on Reform's latest report calling for the removal of the proposed 50% tax rate, which he claimed could be paid for by removing existing exemptions on VAT, such as on food and children's clothing and increasing the rate on domestic fuel.

Hiking VAT in this way would be enough "to compensate a third of families, abolish the 50p rate, cut National Insurance contributions and pay back a chunk of the [Government's] deficit", he claimed.

With one foot in the Save Our Savers (SOS) camp Mr Haldenby wants a better deal for savers and with his other foot in the Reform camp he'd impose a greater tax burden for families with incomes between £17,000 and £105,000 per year in return for lower taxation for the very highest earners. So unless you're fortunate enough to be bringing in over £105,000 a year, it appears whatever SOS may seek to give, Reform would surely take away, with interest.

While the virtue of saving should certainly be encouraged, and it is definitely time to kiss goodbye the "spend now, pay later" culture that has been promoted by the past two decades of easy credit, squeezing families on average incomes by increasing their food, fuel and children's clothing bills to allow the highest earners to benefit is not the way to do it.