Hooray we pay more tax that the Germans!
Discussion
Gordons done it, it's taken 8 years to catch up but finally for the first time in 15 years we are paying more tax as a percentage of GDP than even Germany!
But the good news isn't over yet with a £10bn-£15bn ( depending on who you ask ) black hole in Gordons sums after he prudently estimated UK economic growth to be twice what it actually is...... taxes are set to rise even further.
Of course unlike the Germans we don't have a state of zee art transport system, and unlike the French we lack a magnificent health system, but what we do have...
...is the largest, most drunken, most violent and high profile underclass in the Western World. Gordon Brown is right we should proud to be British ( as it means we don't have to mention it if we're Scottish ).
Right last one out switch the light off.
But the good news isn't over yet with a £10bn-£15bn ( depending on who you ask ) black hole in Gordons sums after he prudently estimated UK economic growth to be twice what it actually is...... taxes are set to rise even further.
Of course unlike the Germans we don't have a state of zee art transport system, and unlike the French we lack a magnificent health system, but what we do have...
...is the largest, most drunken, most violent and high profile underclass in the Western World. Gordon Brown is right we should proud to be British ( as it means we don't have to mention it if we're Scottish ).
Right last one out switch the light off.
Marquis_Rex said:
Are you sure? WOW!
I guess overall you're right.
I start in Germany in Febuary, and I rememeber my grin decaying rapidly when they went from telling me my gross salary to my net take home
We've hit 47.5% compared to zee Germans on 47%
In 97' when Labour came to power we spent a pathetic 37% of GDP on tax. Whilst German tax spending is actually falling ours is rising.
Never mind if it's any comfort UK business investment was the lowest for 40 years in 2005, the trade deficit is the largest ever and UK exports of financial services actually fell ( Jaglover you'll be interested by that )........ oh and unemployment in the 16-24 age group is running at 20%.
Guys I'm sorry to be a bit cathartic but I'm starting to despair at the neglegence of the British Media when it comes to reporting about the economy, this stuff is important.
timmy30 said:
Are you sure? WOW!
I guess overall you're right.
I start in Germany in Febuary, and I rememeber my grin decaying rapidly when they went from telling me my gross salary to my net take home
We've hit 47.5% compared to zee Germans on 47%
In 97' when Labour came to power we spent a pathetic 37% of GDP on tax. Whilst German tax spending is actually falling ours is rising.
Never mind if it's any comfort UK business investment was the lowest for 40 years in 2005, the trade deficit is the largest ever and UK exports of financial services actually fell ( Jaglover you'll be interested by that )........ oh and unemployment in the 16-24 age group is running at 20%.
Guys I'm sorry to be a bit cathartic but I'm starting to despair at the neglegence of the British Media when it comes to reporting about the economy, this stuff is important.
WOW!
You've convined me.
And decent educated valued people are leaving- I'm proof of that (
) It's really sad, because I love the UK, the houses, the life style in the country the freedom. You have to make emigration plans to realise the special things about the UK.
ATG said:
where do those figures come from?
There's a paper that I read called 'The Business' which listed the sources with the figures I don't have it in front of me right now, but if you're interested I can PM you the sources when I get home this evening. The figures though as correct as quoted.
Marquis_Rex said:
And decent educated valued people are leaving- I'm proof of that (
It's really sad, because I love the UK, the houses, the life style in the country the freedom. You have to make emigration plans to realise the special things about the UK.
Hence the timmys off to Switzerland/Cayman Islands/Singapore/Hong Kong thread.
The only hitch at the moment is that the imported Itlian Mrs is happy to be exported back to Italy......so long as I buy her a house in Liguria ( NW Italy )which I can visit and use as a base "if I like" ahhhh what a sweetie.
timmy30 said:
oh and unemployment in the 16-24 age group is running at 20%.
Yeah I can believe that. Most people that age don't have much experience or qualifications, so they look for temporary jobs to work their way up. Students also look for temporary jobs during summer (but I doubt they class as unemployed). However, and without meaning to be racist or anything here, all the jobs are taken by immigrants, who are prepared to work longer hours and for less pay. All this government education stuff is bollox when they don't go and employ us anyway because we cost more.
In my summer job, I had to teach a polish girl what a tty cable was and whether we should use LR or CR, and it was incredibly painful. The only reason I got the job was because I had a computing A-level, which somehow I doubt she had! The end result was production was always behind schedule, and the way the solved it was to employ more foreigners, hence making my life even more difficult! And this was a giant multinational company who made very thin phones who you could shave with.
Add to this most people can earn more on the dole than in most jobs, you wonder why nobody is employed and chavs are everywhere. Make the dole less Gordon, so they have to go out and get a job!
This country is a f
king joke.What you've forgotten to mention is that we in Germany also pay an additional 7% tax to pay for the East German wasters...a so-called solidarity tax.... another excuse for useless wnakers of burocrats to piss some more money down the drain...... So we in Germany still pay more tax than in GB! and it is 52% tax rate if you're earning anything substantial not 47%!!!!!
JMGS4 said:
What you've forgotten to mention is that we in Germany also pay an additional 7% tax to pay for the East German wasters...a so-called solidarity tax.... another excuse for useless wnakers of burocrats to piss some more money down the drain...... So we in Germany still pay more tax than in GB! and it is 52% tax rate if you're earning anything substantial not 47%!!!!!
You're confusing personal tax rates, with tax as a % of GDP.
German tax as a % of GDP is 47% ( that includes all taxes personal and corporate )
UK tax as a % of GDP is 47.5 %
JMGS4 has a valid point.
When working out what I get NET in Germany- litterally 50% of the paycheque goes- regardless of quoted tax rates. Alot of this is because I'm single.
In This country after all deduction it was more like about 31 %- although I was on significantly less.
However I haven't factored in things like energy costs, VAT (and equivalent comparison) etc etc
When working out what I get NET in Germany- litterally 50% of the paycheque goes- regardless of quoted tax rates. Alot of this is because I'm single.
In This country after all deduction it was more like about 31 %- although I was on significantly less.
However I haven't factored in things like energy costs, VAT (and equivalent comparison) etc etc
timmy30 said:
What you've forgotten to mention is that we in Germany also pay an additional 7% tax to pay for the East German wasters...a so-called solidarity tax.... another excuse for useless wnakers of burocrats to piss some more money down the drain...... So we in Germany still pay more tax than in GB! and it is 52% tax rate if you're earning anything substantial not 47%!!!!!
You're confusing personal tax rates, with tax as a % of GDP.
German tax as a % of GDP is 47% ( that includes all taxes personal and corporate )
UK tax as a % of GDP is 47.5 %
Indeed
An individual might have less of their income deducted directly here, but the total take might well be a larger share of the economy.
The state sector as % of GDP is surprisingly similar in most developed economies ... and therefore so is the total tax take assuming your budget is anywhere near balanced. Because most tax systems are regressive, as most economies grows so does their tax take as a % of GDP. The UK has been growing substantially more strongly than Germany since reunification, so the narrowing of the tax take may well be largely a "passive" effect of growth. Clearly a case can be made for adjusting a country's tax rates as its economy grows, but this could be geuinely counter-productive and require interest rates to rise, and certainly at a practical level it is all but unheard of ... the Exchequer is not known for looking a gift horse in the mouth. Might get off my fat arse and see if I can find a copy of The Business. Is it any good?
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