MEMBERS of the armed forces serving in 'a hostile fire zone' should be given tax breaks, West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett said this week.
Mr Burnett said that in the USA, if you serve in what the Government designates as a hostile fire zone you do not pay income tax, although you do still pay the equivalent to National Insurance contributions.
'Our troops are serving with them and should be treated on an equal basis,' he said.
'I raised the matter on the floor of the House of Commons on Tuesday night and I and the three other Liberal Democrat members of the Finance Bill committee will be putting down clauses in the Finance Bill to amend this' he added.
Mr Burnett has also written to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon urging him to consider the proposal. British military personnel serving in Afghanistan receive a small payment — often just a few pounds a day — to recognise the fact that they are working non-standard hours, but there are no existing plans to introduce wider tax breaks.
'There is a lot of difference between someone stationed in England and someone in the mountains of Afghanistan in full combat, who is getting the same sort of pay,' he said.
'If someone was in a parachute unit they received extra pay whether they were on active duty or not when I was in the Royal Marines, so what about the man in the line of fire,' he queried.
Mr Burnett said there was a precedent, as there was exemption from Inheritance Tax if someone was killed on active service.
'We are not talking huge amounts of expenditure, but it is a small reward for the huge sacrifices we are asking our front-line troops to make.'