ICM Poll: Tax & personal finance

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In an exclusive poll for Retail Week, ICM Research interviewed a random selection of 2,052 adults aged 18 and over between January 15 and 17, 2010.

How worried are you about the potential tax rises after the general election?
Very worried		18%
Quite worried		45%
Not very worried		26%
Don’t know		6%
The general consensus shows two thirds (63%) of people are worried about potential tax rises after the upcoming general election. Two thirds of women are worried (66%) about this in comparison with six in 10 men (59%). 35- to 54-year-olds were most worried about tax rises (71%) with the least worried being 18- to 24-year-olds and 65 or over (42% and 41% respectively).
Are you likely to defer major purchases until you know how the election result will affect your personal finances?
Very likely		11%
Fairly likely		15%
Neither likely nor unlikely		46%
Fairly unlikely		10%
Very unlikely		10%
A quarter of people (25%) are likely to defer major purchases until they know more while 21% are unlikely to do so. Just under half (46%) are neither likely nor unlikely to defer major purchases, which means that the election outcome for most does not have an impact on personal finances. The age range most likely to defer purchases are those aged 35 to 44 (32%) compared with those 65 or over (18%) least likely to do so.
If VAT increased after the election, to what extent would you change your spending habits to reduce the impact? I would change my spending…
A lot		14%
A little		47%
Not at all		29%
Don’t know		10%
Almost half of people (47%) said they would change their spending habits a little if VAT increased after the election. Three in 10 (29%) said they would not change at all and only 14% said they would change a lot. A third (33%) of men would not change their spending habits compared with 26% of women. Nearly four in 10 people aged 65 or over (37%) would most likely not change their habits – this figure being 24% for those aged 35 to 44.
Which of the following political party do you think would be best for your personal finances?
Don’t know		24%
None of these		24%
Conservatives		23%
Labour		14%
Liberal Democrats		7%
UK independence Party		3%
Scottish National Party		2%
Green Party		1%
Other		1%
A quarter (23%) of people think the Conservatives would be the best party for personal finances followed by Labour (14%) and the Liberal Democrats (7%). A quarter of people (24%) said that none of the current political parties would be best for personal finance. Three in 10 men (29%) say Conservatives would be best for personal finances compared with two in 10 women (18%).

Methodology

ICM Research interviewed a random selection of 2,052 adults aged 18 and over between January 15 and 17, 2010. Interviews were conducted online and the results have been weighted to be nationally representative of the profile of all adults