Middle class misery

[scotview]

Another aspect of the tax system which irks me is the way double taxation works against us.

It's the same with Council Tax, that's taken from your after tax income.

[Dod101]

Another aspect of the tax system which irks me is the way double taxation works against us.

It's the same with Council Tax, that's taken from your after tax income.

VAT is paid from after tax income as well but that is just how it is. No point in getting worked up about these things.

Dod

[Mike4]

It's the same with Council Tax, that's taken from your after tax income.

VAT is paid from after tax income as well but that is just how it is. No point in getting worked up about these things.

Dod

Similarly with death duties, or whatever the correct term for them is these days.

[servodude]

VAT is paid from after tax income as well but that is just how it is. No point in getting worked up about these things.

Dod

Similarly with death duties, or whatever the correct term for them is these days.

...and duty on whisky!

I suppose everything could be rolled up and taken off as IT but I imagine that would start to feel a bit like life behind the iron curtain

[scotview]

Similarly with death duties, or whatever the correct term for them is these days.

...and duty on whisky!

I suppose everything could be rolled up and taken off as IT but I imagine that would start to feel a bit like life behind the iron curtain

Aye, or a bit like up here in the SNP's Scotland.

[servodude]

...and duty on whisky!

I suppose everything could be rolled up and taken off as IT but I imagine that would start to feel a bit like life behind the iron curtain

Aye, or a bit like up here in the SNP's Scotland.

That's a bit harsh... I'm pretty sure that the potholes were filled in the USSR

[Lootman]

Similarly with death duties, or whatever the correct term for them is these days.

...and duty on whisky!

I suppose everything could be rolled up and taken off as IT but I imagine that would start to feel a bit like life behind the iron curtain

Before Reagan the US tax system worked like that. Amongst the things you could offset against income tax were property taxes, sales taxes and even gambling losses.

Property taxes are still allowed, but capped. And mortgage interest, but again capped.

[Moosehoosenew]

I think it's the culture change brought about by the Thatcher doctrine. "Why save for something wnen you can borrow and have it now!"

"A new car? - Just remortgage your house!"

I was guilty of this once or twice. I did learn however.

I did not realise that Thatcher was the root cause of encouraging borrowing, how so?

[Tedx]

I think it's the culture change brought about by the Thatcher doctrine. "Why save for something wnen you can borrow and have it now!"

"A new car? - Just remortgage your house!"

I was guilty of this once or twice. I did learn however.

I did not realise that Thatcher was the root cause of encouraging borrowing, how so?

Council houses being sold off at huge discounts giving folk equity to spend by remortgaging I guess

[DrFfybes]

I think I mentioned this on these boards a while ago. I'm 56 and I have qualified for my maximum state pension....yet I still have to pay.

Maybe it's best to keep on working for a few more years.....just to put a few more in the bank in case the bastards change the rules.

There's an answer to that. I'm 57 and don't pay NI

Still need to buy a year though, I wonder if the drop in NI rates will reduce that?

Back to the original topic, these people living beyond their means are important, and necessary. We need them to buy cars, take out loans, spend all their cash, change their phone every 12 months, to keep our dividends rolling in

Paul

[Nimrod103]

I did not realise that Thatcher was the root cause of encouraging borrowing, how so?

Council houses being sold off at huge discounts giving folk equity to spend by remortgaging I guess

But the huge rise in house prices occurred under Blair Brown, rising from average of £110,000 in 1997 to £300,000 in 2008 (real prices, inflation adjusted!!!) (https://www.nationwidehousepriceindex.c ... kf61-wbx2i).

That was the borrowing binge which caused all the subsequent distress.

[redsturgeon]

I love the sound of comfortable retired men moaning about younger people with families and mortgages complaining about the cost of living while at the same time those same men want more tax cuts for themselves.

I would happily pay higher taxes for better services.

Sometimes the UK seems like a third world country.

[Tedx]

I love the sound of comfortable retired men moaning about younger people with families and mortgages complaining about the cost of living while at the same time those same men want more tax cuts for themselves.

I would happily pay higher taxes for better services.

Sometimes the UK seems like a third world country.

I would happily pay higher taxes too if I thought it was going to be spent wisely. But you know it's getting filtered off to crony companies, big banks, Lords, Ladies and anyone else that sniffs up the right butt.

[scotview]

I would happily pay higher taxes for better services.

Sometimes the UK seems like a third world country.

Interesting article in the Telegraph today about Woking Council. They apparently invested in property development which went way over budget. Now their council taxes will be going up and service may be cut.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consu ... vestments/

[the0ni0nking]

I love the sound of comfortable retired men moaning about younger people with families and mortgages complaining about the cost of living while at the same time those same men want more tax cuts for themselves.

I would happily pay higher taxes for better services.

Sometimes the UK seems like a third world country.

As someone not retired albeit planning to in the next 3 or so years, the issue the UK government have with me is that my job (in that regard I mean me rather than the role) is transferable to a different country. The COVID pandemic has made WFH a much wider phenomenon albeit in my case I had just transitioned to homeworking after completing an assignment overseas just before the pandemic hit.

Within a month I could upsticks and move to - for example - Spain - where I would be welcomed on a specific visa type for non-EU nationals and where I would also enjoy materially lower tax than I do now due to their desire to attract people exactly like me - globally mobile. That is also not taking into account the lower cost of living as well.

I guess what I am saying is they could only squeeze me for more taxes so much - exactly how much I'm not really sure. As it is they must be close to it as I have a meeting scheduled in April when I'm back in Spain to discuss exactly this scenario and establish exactly the likely tax benefits and the obvious lifestyle ones!

[Nimrod103]

I would happily pay higher taxes for better services.

Sometimes the UK seems like a third world country.

Interesting article in the Telegraph today about Woking Council. They apparently invested in property development which went way over budget. Now their council taxes will be going up and service may be cut.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consu ... vestments/

I read the article too and it is truly depressing. Not only run way over budget, but they were investing in office and retail property precisely at the point when those areas were falling out of favour. One wonders what the Public Works Loan Board (who lent the money, and is now abolished) thought they were doing, lending to a council with no expertise in property investment. Woking was Tory but there are other examples from across the political spectrum. I blame the low/zero interest rate era which caused all kinds of mal-investment, and the chickens of which are now coming home to roost.
That is the trouble with taxation and government spending - it is too frequently spent badly.

[88V8]

I love the sound of comfortable retired men moaning about younger people with families and mortgages complaining about the cost of living while at the same time those same men want more tax cuts for themselves.

It's not the moaning that bothers me, it's the lazy and spendthrift.

And I'm not looking for tax cuts, any headroom should go into Defence and some for the NHS. Although if they're handing out tax cuts, I'm not going to refuse.....

V8

[Mike4]

I love the sound of comfortable retired men moaning about younger people with families and mortgages complaining about the cost of living while at the same time those same men want more tax cuts for themselves.

I would happily pay higher taxes for better services.

Sometimes the UK seems like a third world country.

The trouble is, we have the high taxes you mention already but they are not translating into better services. So where is all the money being drained off to?

The public suspects there are many more people with their fingers in the till like Michelle Mone yet to be discovered, and lots of us blame the amoral Boris for encouraging this type of till-pilfering rather than keeping a lid on it.

[marronier]

High taxes are partly because we always talk about "Public Spending " when we should say "Public Buying " , after all ,any profligate fool can spend ( and does ) where prudent buying is an art. You will never see an advert for a Company Spender. In commerce, buying is the foundation of any profit.

[Tedx]

I love the sound of comfortable retired men moaning about younger people with families and mortgages complaining about the cost of living while at the same time those same men want more tax cuts for themselves.

I would happily pay higher taxes for better services.

Sometimes the UK seems like a third world country.

The trouble is, we have the high taxes you mention already but they are not translating into better services. So where is all the money being drained off to?

The public suspects there are many more people with their fingers in the till like Michelle Mone yet to be discovered, and lots of us blame the amoral Boris for encouraging this type of till-pilfering rather than keeping a lid on it.

All above board...:

A key source of banks’ profits is higher interest rates. The Bank of England currently conducts monetary policy by paying its base rate of interest (currently 5.25 per cent) on central bank reserves held by commercial banks. In an analysis for the IFS, former Bank of England Deputy Governor Sir Paul Tucker suggested that banks would receive £42 billion and £33 billion in 2023 and 2024 respectively from interest paid on their risk-free reserves. The costs of this are ultimately borne by the Treasury, which has been transferring tens of billions of pounds to the central bank to cover these payments.

That's a windfall. We should tax it.

https://positivemoney.org/2024/02/laugh ... -stay-low/

The government has so far resisted calls for a windfall tax, claiming that banks’ exorbitant profits are ultimately good for society, as the financial services sector provides a large number of jobs.....for the boys.