Autumn Statement 2016

[type-r]

Due next week, Wednesday 23rd. Thoughts / predictions / wants?

Anyone reckon Hammond will go for this?

[Eric Mc]

No.

Far more importantly - I want a massive rethink on Making Tax Digital - which is the biggest upheaval in UK tax since Self Assessment was introduced 20 years ago.

[Jockman]

I'd be surprised if he reduced measures to take the heat out of the property market.

I agree with Digga's sentiments. Infrastructure commitments and keep his fingers crossed for the 'multiplier' effect of boosting economic activity in other areas.

[PurpleMoonlight]

I would like to see the Dividend tax abandoned.

I think it is hugely detrimental to the growth of the economy and employment creation.

[PurpleMoonlight]

I wouldn't be keen on this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3936418/Na...

[kentlad]

I'm hoping they do something with stamp duty. Even a cap for FTB would be something. Will it happen? Doubt it, but surely an ex-chancellor wouldn't comment on it, without there being a possibility of it happening?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/15/cut-cra...

Mind you, i know nothing about politics..managed to convince myself brexit wasn't going to happen and that trump would lose by a land slide!

[NickCQ]

I'd love to see something on the supply side for housing rather than the demand side. Maybe the compromise is reduced Stamp Duty for new builds only?

[Jordan210]

NickCQ said:

I'd love to see something on the supply side for housing rather than the demand side. Maybe the compromise is reduced Stamp Duty for new builds only?

If you reduce stamp duty on new builds all that will happen is the builder will add it back in to the price for profit to them selfs.

[NickCQ]

Jordan210 said:

NickCQ said:

I'd love to see something on the supply side for housing rather than the demand side. Maybe the compromise is reduced Stamp Duty for new builds only?

If you reduce stamp duty on new builds all that will happen is the builder will add it back in to the price for profit to them selfs.

The builder will add back some of it, sure, but given that the elasticity of supply wrt price for new builds is not zero, there will be some reduction in effective cost to the buyers and some increase in number of houses built (analysing it over a long enough timeframe).

[Cheib]

The problem is getting new builds built in the volume that they are needed. Sure Stamp Duty has killed the top end of the market but the core issues of the housing market are all about supply and demand..nothing the chancellor does will change that in any material way.

[basherX]

Scrap the annual allowance taper. Replace with something simpler if really necessary.

[type-r]

From BBC:

"The chancellor wants the Autumn Statement to return to its original purpose as the lower profile of the two "fiscal events" of the year with major tax changes left to the budget in the spring."

Well that's that then.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38017223

[Jockman]

basherX said:

Scrap the annual allowance taper. Replace with something simpler if really necessary.

I'm minded to agree with you as those that would be caught by it would probably be caught by the reduced lifetime allowance anyway.

[powerstroke]

Flat tax would be good and scrap tax credits ....

[Welshbeef]

powerstroke said:

Flat tax would be good and scrap tax credits ....

It's happening naturally with the living wage going up to £9.20/hour by Apr 2020 and the income tax free threshold will be £12,500.

But we are going further and further to a point below £45k your ok above that your taxed so hard

[Jockman]

Welshbeef said:

It's happening naturally with the living wage going up to £9.20/hour by Apr 2020....

Some say £8.60per hour by 2020.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37626422

[Hainey]

Welshbeef said:

powerstroke said:

Flat tax would be good and scrap tax credits ....

It's happening naturally with the living wage going up to £9.20/hour by Apr 2020 and the income tax free threshold will be £12,500.

But we are going further and further to a point below £45k your ok above that your taxed so hard

Higher rate tax really should be north of 60k these days. It's set at a level just now where it's trapping people that are hardly rich by any means.

[Welshbeef]

Hainey said:

Welshbeef said:

powerstroke said:

Flat tax would be good and scrap tax credits ....

It's happening naturally with the living wage going up to £9.20/hour by Apr 2020 and the income tax free threshold will be £12,500.

But we are going further and further to a point below £45k your ok above that your taxed so hard

Higher rate tax really should be north of 60k these days. It's set at a level just now where it's trapping people that are hardly rich by any means.

But to change it will mean a massive tax reduction to HMRC.

How much would you then put up tax above £60k to compensate? Plus remember we need to get more tax in than we currently do due to a huge deficit of £80billions.

[Revisitph]

Hainey said:

Higher rate tax really should be north of 60k these days. It's set at a level just now where it's trapping people that are hardly rich by any means.

Which is exactly what Chancellors want! Fiscal creep - leave the threshold where it is and more and more people get caught, whether it is income tax or IHT.
The issue with raising thresholds (especially at the lower end) is that a very large number of people benefit a little, but the overall cost is enormous. Currently it isn't the 40% threshold which really really pinches people earning more (though by taxing a lot of people at that rate you gain a lot of tax), the ultra-hard pinches are the effective 62% (inc N.I.) between 100 and ?122k as earners in that bracket lose their nil rate allowance by £1 for every £2 earned over the 100 threshold. At the top of that they are not earning any untaxed income, have a respite at 42% and then hit 47%, at which point the new tapered pension tax relief kicks in to make their effective rate ~ 70%, though the very few who earn over 210k drop back to 45% again.

Certainly there's not much sympathy for the 100k earners or even the 150k, and they are too few to have a political effect but there are enough of them to yield a useful tax take up to a point, until they are squeezed so hard that they either take steps to 1) reduce their income - especially if they are reaching the annual or lifetime pension allowances as well, or 2) decide to go elsewhere. I know of several GPs who, faced with effective tax rates of ~70% and a battering from politicians have decided to either cut their hours so that they are not working for 8 hours and being paid for 2 or stopping altogether.

[Hainey]

Welshbeef said:

Hainey said:

Welshbeef said:

powerstroke said:

Flat tax would be good and scrap tax credits ....

It's happening naturally with the living wage going up to £9.20/hour by Apr 2020 and the income tax free threshold will be £12,500.

But we are going further and further to a point below £45k your ok above that your taxed so hard

Higher rate tax really should be north of 60k these days. It's set at a level just now where it's trapping people that are hardly rich by any means.

But to change it will mean a massive tax reduction to HMRC.

How much would you then put up tax above £60k to compensate? Plus remember we need to get more tax in than we currently do due to a huge deficit of £80billions.

Here's a shocker - hows about they actually get a bit more ta efficient. Don't you realise that Politicians will ALWAYS find a reason to spent more tax money and ask for yet more. And more. And more.

Shall we start with closing the tax sheltering loopholes enjoyed by the insanely rich at one end of the spectrum, and then having a long hard look a the housing benefit sham at the other end?

The answer is not more and more tax ad infinitum.