Taxes to pay for furlough etc
Discussion
I personally don't think spending cuts are really an option. We've had years of that and we can't have several more years.
Personally I'd push for higher direct taxation and I'd tie it back to this, I'd even hypothecate it in some way. Perhaps you'd introduce an additional 5% on income over £20k?
To make it more equal I'd possibly even reduce the size of the state pension because I'm not sure why only those in work should pay for all this?
No doubt loads wrong with those suggestions!
Personally I'd push for higher direct taxation and I'd tie it back to this, I'd even hypothecate it in some way. Perhaps you'd introduce an additional 5% on income over £20k?
To make it more equal I'd possibly even reduce the size of the state pension because I'm not sure why only those in work should pay for all this?
No doubt loads wrong with those suggestions!
Sophisticated Sarah said:
Cut foreign aid until we are back on our feet
Look at efficiency savings in government
Perhaps increased income tax on those who were in receipt of money while furloughed? A lot of us haven’t received a penny in help so don’t see why we should be further punished.
Tax isn't a punishment. I haven't received a penny but would be happy to see an increase in taxation to get our economy back on its feet. Look at efficiency savings in government
Perhaps increased income tax on those who were in receipt of money while furloughed? A lot of us haven’t received a penny in help so don’t see why we should be further punished.
Increase corporation tax - the vast majority of companies have either taken money from grants or furlough or massively gained (food retail). Those companies that have continued to make profits when taking government money (there will be very few that have taken nothing) should contribute towards the recovery.
Remove the triple lock on pensions - Pensioners have been the prime target for protection, but with the triple lock would continue to get faster rises in pensions when everyone else sees their income fall. This isn’t about hitting pensioners, but about not further increases in inequality.
Return the top rate of tax to where it was - this should never have changed.
Doing anything that directly hits either businesses that are struggling as a result or your average worker will be devastating and slow down any recovery.
My biggest fear is that the hardest hit will be the public sector, again, who have kept on working, delivering key services, protecting the public and delivering treatment and working on vaccines, changing what they do and working way outside their normal roles, putting themselves at risk, yet will again be kicked by the government. There is already talk of limiting inflationary pay rises to 1% or less.
Remove the triple lock on pensions - Pensioners have been the prime target for protection, but with the triple lock would continue to get faster rises in pensions when everyone else sees their income fall. This isn’t about hitting pensioners, but about not further increases in inequality.
Return the top rate of tax to where it was - this should never have changed.
Doing anything that directly hits either businesses that are struggling as a result or your average worker will be devastating and slow down any recovery.
My biggest fear is that the hardest hit will be the public sector, again, who have kept on working, delivering key services, protecting the public and delivering treatment and working on vaccines, changing what they do and working way outside their normal roles, putting themselves at risk, yet will again be kicked by the government. There is already talk of limiting inflationary pay rises to 1% or less.
They have done well, but in the case of the supermarkets at least they've been providing an essential service.
Can't believe people still trot out the line that we need to make efficiency savings - what do you think they've been trying to do with all the budget cuts over the last 10 years?
I understand the idea that only those who have benefitted from furlough should pay is attractive but it's all been a bit of a lottery and the economy is a bit of a web. I haven't been furloughed but I know that life would be a lot worse for me if the economy collapsed and everyone was out of work even if I was still working. So I'm ok to pay more tax (I'm a higher rate taxpayer btw).
I think one thing that will almost certainly happen now is the removal of higher rate tax relief on pensions which is something I'm personally gutted about. I've not been a higher rate tax payer for long and this is one major benefit and has motivated me to massively increase my pension contributions. So to lose that just as you get it is a bit of a sickener. But then I'm not sure how you defend a benefit that only helps people in the higher earnings brackets.
Can't believe people still trot out the line that we need to make efficiency savings - what do you think they've been trying to do with all the budget cuts over the last 10 years?
I understand the idea that only those who have benefitted from furlough should pay is attractive but it's all been a bit of a lottery and the economy is a bit of a web. I haven't been furloughed but I know that life would be a lot worse for me if the economy collapsed and everyone was out of work even if I was still working. So I'm ok to pay more tax (I'm a higher rate taxpayer btw).
I think one thing that will almost certainly happen now is the removal of higher rate tax relief on pensions which is something I'm personally gutted about. I've not been a higher rate tax payer for long and this is one major benefit and has motivated me to massively increase my pension contributions. So to lose that just as you get it is a bit of a sickener. But then I'm not sure how you defend a benefit that only helps people in the higher earnings brackets.
Stop overseas aid until we have recovered.
Drop HS2
Chase all companies that do not pay fair tax (Amazon,Google etc) If you earn profit here you should pay tax on it.
Introduce tax onto EV's and Hybrids at a fairer level.
raise corp. tax slightly but not to hard as they will be struggling enough.
A couple of pence on fuel taxes
Limit M.P. expenses to a sensible level like £20K max they earn enough to survive.
re-structure the NHS, bring back matrons, lose dead weight, support the nurses.
Drop HS2
Chase all companies that do not pay fair tax (Amazon,Google etc) If you earn profit here you should pay tax on it.
Introduce tax onto EV's and Hybrids at a fairer level.
raise corp. tax slightly but not to hard as they will be struggling enough.
A couple of pence on fuel taxes
Limit M.P. expenses to a sensible level like £20K max they earn enough to survive.
re-structure the NHS, bring back matrons, lose dead weight, support the nurses.
I hear more and more talk of a capital levy being introduced which does worry me.
There are so many pitfalls with it but it does bring in lots of money very quickly. It obviously dispraportinatley affects the wealthy so will please the Twitter socialists. For it to be effective it needs to happen quickly and without warning so as to avoid the capital escaping.
Seems the EU may already be thinking about it......time to hide cash under the floorboards maybe?
https://voxeu.org/article/corona-financial-solidar...
There are so many pitfalls with it but it does bring in lots of money very quickly. It obviously dispraportinatley affects the wealthy so will please the Twitter socialists. For it to be effective it needs to happen quickly and without warning so as to avoid the capital escaping.
Seems the EU may already be thinking about it......time to hide cash under the floorboards maybe?
https://voxeu.org/article/corona-financial-solidar...
Athlon said:
Stop overseas aid until we have recovered.
Drop HS2
Chase all companies that do not pay fair tax (Amazon,Google etc) If you earn profit here you should pay tax on it.
Introduce tax onto EV's and Hybrids at a fairer level.
raise corp. tax slightly but not to hard as they will be struggling enough.
A couple of pence on fuel taxes
Limit M.P. expenses to a sensible level like £20K max they earn enough to survive.
re-structure the NHS, bring back matrons, lose dead weight, support the nurses.
So I like the idea of pursuing tax from companies that off shore etc but it is really hard to do in practice. There is a legitimate place for things like transfer pricing and so it is a difficult nut to crack. Drop HS2
Chase all companies that do not pay fair tax (Amazon,Google etc) If you earn profit here you should pay tax on it.
Introduce tax onto EV's and Hybrids at a fairer level.
raise corp. tax slightly but not to hard as they will be struggling enough.
A couple of pence on fuel taxes
Limit M.P. expenses to a sensible level like £20K max they earn enough to survive.
re-structure the NHS, bring back matrons, lose dead weight, support the nurses.
I don't think that reducing the total cost of MPs expenses is going to make even the slightest bit of difference as a total level it is still a small figure.
Sophisticated Sarah said:
Cut foreign aid until we are back on our feet
Oddly, that's one thing that should arguably be increased. It's Foreign Aid (from all donor countries, not just the UK) that has helped to keep Ebola and many other nasties at bay in countries that could not otherwise afford to do anything and / or lack the capacity to do anything. Who's to say what difference would be made if various donors hadn't withdrawn from China when they did 20 years ago!!Plus it keeps me in gainful employment and thus the ability to pay taxes!
inflation - make wages rise in line with annuakl inflation - make this not just minimim wage but all wages. so at the start of the tax year alll wages go up by circa 2% firms will pass this on to consumers in form of higher prices no one worse or better off an rinse an repeate till tax is up as a % of debt
this hits savers the most and thoes no longer working but it stops thoes at the start of there working lives paying off something they had no control over.
Also if furlough has cost £45bn fine but answer this of the £80bn lent to RBS on 1 day how much in 10 years has been repaid.
this hits savers the most and thoes no longer working but it stops thoes at the start of there working lives paying off something they had no control over.
Also if furlough has cost £45bn fine but answer this of the £80bn lent to RBS on 1 day how much in 10 years has been repaid.
Some thoughts (given the forecast 2020 deficit is somewhere north of £200 billion, yikes!):
- An increase in income tax rates, despite the manifesto pledge, would be acceptable to people as an inevitable consequence of the crisis - perhaps make it time limited to three years?
- Something has to be done about pensions, so a suspension or removal of the triple lock, and/or higher rate relief for contributions.
- A public sector pay freeze would be politically difficult - "hey, NHS, you've had your clapping, now shut up and keep working for no more money....."
- Fuel duty (since pump prices are now very low) and VED rises for those horrible smelly diesels.
- Suspend foreign aid.
- Modest increase in corporation tax, perhaps also employer NIC.
Being totally serious, methinks many hours of brainstorming needs to be done . What is ahead is a tricky tightrope, overly taxing business, and individauls, can tend to have very negative impacts , sometimes cutting the income from such measures. Fact is, like it or not , busnesses need to be in a scenario to create employment, becuase there is no doubt this virus will see jobs lost that won't come back,those people need work. Companies should be encouraged to invest, changing the goalposts on corporation tax, etc, will not tend to encourage that investment.
I think that at least two measures are inevitable , the triple lock on pensions will go, and fuel duty, almost 100% to increase. Higher rate tax relief on pensions very possible, even the much hated inheritance tax., from memory , after the war IHT was 80% , which is truly draconian, but maybe at least some income for the treasury could be gained from that route.
As said though, it's going to be tricky, it's patently obvious, Govt needs to face the fiscal damge controlling this virus has done to the economy , the aim will ben to raise what is needed with the least impact on business and employment growth.
Lastly, I am not aware of what our trade deficit/surplus is with China , nor what kind of trade agreements we have with them. However, as they are *again* the source of a global virus incident, I see it that they should be made to pay in some form for their inactions. Tariffs placed on Chinese goods , perhaps some not all, would raise revenue for Govt coffers,plus of course it could encourage businesses to actually manufacture in this country again , as against outsourcing to China. Again, a very complex scenario, and what I outline maybe counter productive, or, just not feasible, whats happened does tend to make we wish it was.
Anybody who has been following events in Australia, will be aware of the actions of the Chinese Govt over Australian imports , following of course the thinly veiled threats made by the Chinese ambassador to Australia a few days back. I get the impression that China will never be viewed in the same way again by many people.
I think that at least two measures are inevitable , the triple lock on pensions will go, and fuel duty, almost 100% to increase. Higher rate tax relief on pensions very possible, even the much hated inheritance tax., from memory , after the war IHT was 80% , which is truly draconian, but maybe at least some income for the treasury could be gained from that route.
As said though, it's going to be tricky, it's patently obvious, Govt needs to face the fiscal damge controlling this virus has done to the economy , the aim will ben to raise what is needed with the least impact on business and employment growth.
Lastly, I am not aware of what our trade deficit/surplus is with China , nor what kind of trade agreements we have with them. However, as they are *again* the source of a global virus incident, I see it that they should be made to pay in some form for their inactions. Tariffs placed on Chinese goods , perhaps some not all, would raise revenue for Govt coffers,plus of course it could encourage businesses to actually manufacture in this country again , as against outsourcing to China. Again, a very complex scenario, and what I outline maybe counter productive, or, just not feasible, whats happened does tend to make we wish it was.
Anybody who has been following events in Australia, will be aware of the actions of the Chinese Govt over Australian imports , following of course the thinly veiled threats made by the Chinese ambassador to Australia a few days back. I get the impression that China will never be viewed in the same way again by many people.
Cancel foreign aid
Cancel HS2
Get rid of buses totally and use the money to get poor people into taxis.
Stamp on these people using clever tax avoidance schemes, particularly multinationals.
Clobber AirBnB and discourage people (with taxes) to avoid using housing in a way other than as a basic home (second homes, multiple homes). The idea is to make everyone pouring money into property unattractive and instead seek alternative investments.
Cut half of the environmental nonsense and replace it with a "Yes, but you'll need to do this" rather than a "No, not under any circumstances".
Get rid of HMRC totally and replace it with a 10% tax on every incoming amount into ones sphere, whether one is an individual or a company.
Get rid of most of the non-jobs at county hall and their gold plated working conditions.
Sling out half the managers managers managers and diversity b
ks at NHS
Make public sector staff tender for their own jobs. You want to work here, in addition to your CV, we will see your price in the box. The payscales are overly generous.
Academia. Reduce their holidays so they are more productive. Same with schools. Spread the hols around more, again, upping standards. We want to add value, work more.
Encourage people back into town centres and smaller shops, rather than out of town drive-to destinations. Cut carbon.
Build a few more coal power stations and get some men back in holes.
Accept climate change as an ongoing part of earth history and stop punishing people with hair shirt nonsense.
Tax the st out of footballers.
Clobber ebay for the hell of it.
Get rid of 500 mps.
Get rid of county councils and instead work from regional offices. This would probably get rid of a load of corruption too.
Close the house or lords.
Claim back a portion of money from the EU for our share of their stuff. Threaten them with nuclear annihilation if they don't comply.
Invade france and put our unemployed to work on the massive farms.
and when that's done, have a nice slow wk.
Cancel HS2
Get rid of buses totally and use the money to get poor people into taxis.
Stamp on these people using clever tax avoidance schemes, particularly multinationals.
Clobber AirBnB and discourage people (with taxes) to avoid using housing in a way other than as a basic home (second homes, multiple homes). The idea is to make everyone pouring money into property unattractive and instead seek alternative investments.
Cut half of the environmental nonsense and replace it with a "Yes, but you'll need to do this" rather than a "No, not under any circumstances".
Get rid of HMRC totally and replace it with a 10% tax on every incoming amount into ones sphere, whether one is an individual or a company.
Get rid of most of the non-jobs at county hall and their gold plated working conditions.
Sling out half the managers managers managers and diversity b
ks at NHSMake public sector staff tender for their own jobs. You want to work here, in addition to your CV, we will see your price in the box. The payscales are overly generous.
Academia. Reduce their holidays so they are more productive. Same with schools. Spread the hols around more, again, upping standards. We want to add value, work more.
Encourage people back into town centres and smaller shops, rather than out of town drive-to destinations. Cut carbon.
Build a few more coal power stations and get some men back in holes.
Accept climate change as an ongoing part of earth history and stop punishing people with hair shirt nonsense.
Tax the s
t out of footballers. Clobber ebay for the hell of it.
Get rid of 500 mps.
Get rid of county councils and instead work from regional offices. This would probably get rid of a load of corruption too.
Close the house or lords.
Claim back a portion of money from the EU for our share of their stuff. Threaten them with nuclear annihilation if they don't comply.
Invade france and put our unemployed to work on the massive farms.
and when that's done, have a nice slow w
k. The government know who has been furloughed and by which companies, which businesses and the self-employed have received grants etc.
Simply get those who have received payments to pay them back albeit over a much longer period.
It is about time some personal responsibility was introduced to the system.
Simply get those who have received payments to pay them back albeit over a much longer period.
It is about time some personal responsibility was introduced to the system.
You must remember that increasing taxes on income at the top rate do not usually increase tax take. The measures implemented need to reasonably radical so for me it would be:
Scrap HS2 but align with a work from home strategy. Tax reliefs for companies prepared to move out of the capital.
Small increase in Corp Tax.
Global digital tax targeting the Amazons/Googles of the world.
Reform of VAT. Change the way small companies have a cliff edge in terms of turnover which leads to "cash" jobs. Reduce VAT on essential goods but increase for luxury items.
Scrap the concept of NI and realign income Tax/Tax Free allowances to make it more transparent. Apply income tax to all types of income.
Scrap HS2 but align with a work from home strategy. Tax reliefs for companies prepared to move out of the capital.
Small increase in Corp Tax.
Global digital tax targeting the Amazons/Googles of the world.
Reform of VAT. Change the way small companies have a cliff edge in terms of turnover which leads to "cash" jobs. Reduce VAT on essential goods but increase for luxury items.
Scrap the concept of NI and realign income Tax/Tax Free allowances to make it more transparent. Apply income tax to all types of income.
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