The chancellor's preference for stealth taxes turned out to bring only a temporary reprieve from public disquiet. Brown denies this, assuming that all growth belongs to him, rather than to those who made it. Of course company taxes fall on people. They pay the higher prices which taxes bring about, and they achieve less return on their investment. Whether the taxes are levied directly on people, or by stealth, the effect is the same.
People have less to spend themselves because government is spending more of it instead.
Herein lies the immorality of taxation. Taxation means compulsion. Our habit of clothing it in fine words often conceals the brute fact that taxation is the confiscation of our property by people who prefer to spend it on their priorities rather than ours. Higher taxation means more compulsion. It forces further retreat by individuals from the area of their lives in which they can make decisions and assume responsibilities.