45p tax bombshell for Labour and Tories?

Those nice people at the Institute for Fiscal Studies have been crunching more numbers.  They think that the 45 pence rate of income tax due to be introduced next year will actually end up costing the Treasury money, as rich folk take more of their money out of the income tax system.  (Read their research here.)

The IFS chaps are too modest to say it, but the political implications of this are considerable.   For Labour, it raises some obvious questions about gesture politics, economic competence and class warfare.

But for the Conservatives, it's potentially even more dangerous.  David Cameron and George Osborne have risked a lot on their plan to keep the 45p rate.   If the IFS numbers are right, they're antagonising a lot of traditional Tories for no fiscal gain whatever.  

Time for Team Osborne to think again?