Nine in Ten Scots households take more than they give
Discussion
Tartan Pixie said:
article said:
Scotland contributed 9.6 per cent of Britain’s tax take and accounted for 9.3 per cent of public spending.
Spending less than they're taxing eh? Sounds like Britain would be better off if it was run from Holyrood. Can anyone find the report that outlines what those two numbers refer to? If memory serves me, I think the 9.3% of public spending excludes capital expenditure...so a worthless number.
On the tax take side of things it's also a strange number, as the ONS can't and don't calculate the tax at an individual level. I have no idea how the guess that figure.
When things like free prescriptions, free university fees and all the other things that seem to be free for the Scots I can well imagine this to be true.
I've often wondered how these are funded and where the downside to such policies are?
Is it some kind of deal to cover North Sea gas?
I've often wondered how these are funded and where the downside to such policies are?
Is it some kind of deal to cover North Sea gas?
London424 said:
I'm pretty sure those numbers are completely made up.
Indeed, hence the wobbly face. There's also a lot of stuff like defense spending and oil revenue that get calculated separately. There is one thing certain about the tory conference though, any statistics regarding Scotland will have been massaged to within an inch of their life.As someone who's undecided which way to vote on independence I've tried to look in to this and come to the conclusion that there's more bull manure surrounding this issue than the whole of old MacDonald's farm.
Best I could work out (using 2010 spending levels) is that if Scotland gets its full geographical share of oil reserves then it should be able to handle its per capita share of the national debt. How close we get to that situation will depend on negotiations.
What's more shocking to me is the line that
"Scotland contributes 9.3% to the UK budget and receives 9.6% of public spending"
Roughly in line with it's ~6 million people in the UK with ~60 million total.
Sure Scotland is a bit higher than the average but I'll bet that is broadly mirrored across the UK and in total no more than 15-20% of households are net contributors.
"Scotland contributes 9.3% to the UK budget and receives 9.6% of public spending"
Roughly in line with it's ~6 million people in the UK with ~60 million total.
Sure Scotland is a bit higher than the average but I'll bet that is broadly mirrored across the UK and in total no more than 15-20% of households are net contributors.
The Don of Croy said:
I'm always encouraged when I hear a faithful union spokesperson say that state employees pay taxes too, so the more we have employed the better off the state will be...
Is it better to have them on the dole contributing absolutely nothing to society and the tax take? Default on mortgages, loans, credit cards and have their cars/houses re-possessed just so we can add them to the dole burden and dwindling housing market?jshell said:
The Don of Croy said:
I'm always encouraged when I hear a faithful union spokesperson say that state employees pay taxes too, so the more we have employed the better off the state will be...
Is it better to have them on the dole contributing absolutely nothing to society and the tax take? Default on mortgages, loans, credit cards and have their cars/houses re-possessed just so we can add them to the dole burden and dwindling housing market?jshell said:
Is it better to have them on the dole contributing absolutely nothing to society and the tax take? Default on mortgages, loans, credit cards and have their cars/houses re-possessed just so we can add them to the dole burden and dwindling housing market?
The alternative is a gilt strike or like Greece or Spain we simply will not be able to pay interest on our deficit. Over time state spending must be reduced, by a lot, this will involve a lot of state workers losing thier jobs, unfortunately there is no choice. Maybe we should go ask a certain GBrown why he added so many new posts to the public payroll. markcoznottz said:
jshell said:
Is it better to have them on the dole contributing absolutely nothing to society and the tax take? Default on mortgages, loans, credit cards and have their cars/houses re-possessed just so we can add them to the dole burden and dwindling housing market?
The alternative is a gilt strike or like Greece or Spain we simply will not be able to pay interest on our deficit. Over time state spending must be reduced, by a lot, this will involve a lot of state workers losing thier jobs, unfortunately there is no choice. Maybe we should go ask a certain GBrown why he added so many new posts to the public payroll. Worker pays tax, but in addition has some self respect, better health, will support the economy by paying rental or mortgage, with house repairs, own transport, etc, etc. Probably won't save everything they have so money is spent in local economy supporting local business, may run a car and pay road tax, fuel tax, support local garage, fuel supplier etc,etc. The money goes around.
neil_w said:
Sounds bad but what are the figures for other parts of Britain?
Further down the article says:
"According to the most recent figures, Scotland contributed 9.6 per cent of Britain’s tax take and accounted for 9.3 per cent of public spending."
So Scotland contributes more in tax than it receives in spending (proportionally).
That would indicate a demographic where lots of high earners make enough and pay enough in tax that they can eclipse the net loss of low and middle earners... Which is sort of the way it should be, isnt it? I mean, if the system had those on low wages contribiting more than they consumed in public services, that would surely be a symptom of something being really messed up.Further down the article says:
"According to the most recent figures, Scotland contributed 9.6 per cent of Britain’s tax take and accounted for 9.3 per cent of public spending."
So Scotland contributes more in tax than it receives in spending (proportionally).
Edited by glazbagun on Monday 8th October 18:38
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