We all love stealth taxes, voters and politicians alike (part 94)

From The Grauniad:

The Conservative leadership would aim to push through an emergency budget, including spending cuts and a possible rise in VAT, with the support of the Liberal Democrats if David Cameron fails to secure an overall majority in the Commons at the general election...

A rise in VAT to 20% in an immediate post-election budget would raise as much as £13bn. Shadow ministers have not ruled out the move, saying such a rise would not necessarily choke off the recovery. In his conference speech Osborne was strongly critical of the VAT cut from 17.5% to 15%, saying it had had little or no effect on stimulating the recovery. VAT is due to be put back to 17.5% after Christmas and other taxes, including a 50p tax rate for those earning over £150,000, are due to be introduced in April.

Yup, they suggest a stealth-tax rise of £13 billion (which will do more than anything to choke off the economy and divert what little resources we have left into VAT-exempt or zero-rated activities, like, er, banking and new residential construction), and nobody bats an eyelid, while waffling on about "freezing" Council Tax for two years (in other words, not increasing it from current receipts of about £25 billion), which both major parties now see as a vote winner.

Yippee.