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Peter and Paul

Betsan Powys | 12:11 UK time, Monday, 21 September 2009

Some questions to which we're still seeking some clear answers:

Does apply all over the UK?

Yes.

It's expected to raise a billion pounds of revenue?

Yes.

And it'll apply in Wales, though clearly it'll hit areas like the South East of England rather harder?

Yes.

So .. to put it bluntly, is this pay day in Wales? A win win situation? We've got fewer £1m mansions but rather more people on a low income who would benefit from the money raised so ... yipee?

Yes .. well ... actually say Welsh Lib Dems, the Assembly could opt out if it wanted to.

Why would it want to?

Well if councils do apply the new tax in Wales, any money raised by them will be taken off the block grant from the Treasury that the Assembly Government gets to decide how to spend.

So the money that would be raised in Wales with the one hand (comparatively not that much actually) would be taken off with the other? Paying Paul, robbing Peter?

Um ... I'll come back to you with an answer to that one later. But it would be up to the Assembly whether it wanted to help people on a low income, help lighten their tax burden. It's about inequality and fairness.

But it would lose that same amount of money from the overall sum it gets?

Yes.

If you raise money with one hand only to have it taken away from the other, can anyone spell out clearly the incentive to administer it at all?

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