Re mansion tax, we not in it together

[BreakingDad77]

AIBU to think it's only the poor, infirm and elderly getting squeezed, to cut government spending and reduce the deficit.

[Tooooooohot]

What has tax being paid on very expensive houses got to do with poor, elderly people? I don't get the connection here?

[TinyManticore]

Yanbu. Dreading seeing what they've got in store for the poorest members of society on Wednesday.

[TheSultanofPing]

I think it's shocking. Announcing this in next week's budget at the same time as 12bn cut in benefits.
They just don't care

[mrsdavidbowie]

Well my house I'd worth £1.3 million but I'm not a Tory peer. Quite common in London.

[Kardamyli]

The people paying for the spending, ie those that pay tax ( and in many cases a lot of tax) are sick of having to foot the £12bn benefits bill, and the country needs to make economies.

[NewFlipFlops]

Ed Miliband was the only one of the major party leaders whose London house would have been caught by the proposed mansion tax btw.

[AllThePrettySeahorses]

By tax, I'm guessing you mean Income Tax, Kardamyli. IT is only 25% of the total tax revenue collected. If you compare incomes, the 10% people on the lowest incomes pay about 60% total tax when everything is factored in (VAT etc) while the top 10% pay circa 45%. So, surprisingly, those benefit scroungers working whatever hours a week minimum wage pay tax too.

Council Tax is another tax that disproportionately affects poorer people - for example, in my area a house worth £130k means a bill of £2300, a house worth £750k is just under £3100 (the top band is £320k +). Hardly fair, is it?

So yeah, OP. YANBU.

[caroldecker]

allthepretty

Total tax take in the UK is £600bn. 60% of that is £360bn.

The bottom 10% have a net income of £8k. Assuming that is 5 million people, total income is £40bn.

Therefore, for your blatant lie fact to be correct, they pay tax of 9 times their income

Even if they spend everything on fully vatable goods at 20%, they by £8bn max, less than 10% - which is as it should be.

[NinkyNonkers]

Yanbu. They quite blatantly couldn't give a shit, and this timing is classic. Write off Child Poverty Act, cancel IHT up to a mill, cuts of 12bn next week. Righto.

[Kardamyli]

allthe pretty I dont just mean income tax. I mean all taxes. Many people on low incomes and benefits don't pay council tax or at least get help to do so. People earning well below what would be considered a rich persons income (say £70 to £80k) pay a massive amount of income tax, no way should they have to pay more. Yes they have a good income compared to average but lose at least half to income tax and NI, so are hardly living the high life.

They also pay stamp duty, CGT, VAT, council tax etc. Probably overall in excess of 60% of earnings to tax.

If someone is on minimum wage with a family won't they get back more in the way of tax credits than they have paid in any sort of tax? also, isn't the personal allowance now at a level where very little income would be taxed if you're on the minimum wage?

I think you are wrong to say that someone on minimum wage will pay 60% tax overall, if not paying income or council tax that just isn't possible. There's no VAT on most foods after all.

[itsmeitscathy]

YANBU

people working for minimum wage are not benefit scroungers btw dearest previous posters.

[shipinabottle]

Kardaymyli everyone pays something to council tax now and the plans on wed suggest everyone is going to have to pay something to their rent out of their pittance they get.

You say people who pay high tax aren't living the high life but they are living at least which is more than can be said for others on benefits .
There are people starving and committing suicide due to these cuts and yet the worst is to come

I think people who are richer have a moral responsibility to do something and not just moan about capital gains tax for gods sake.
How people can sit with thousands in their bank and see people die from hunger.
I can see the collapse of society coming as there will be riots when the cuts come into effect.

[Kardamyli]

itsme who said people on minimum wage were benefit scroungers?

[Kardamyli]

ship I would be very unhappy at having to pay more tax. If anyone is starving, which I don't accept to be true, they are spending the money they receive from the state on the wrong things. Can you point me in the direction of evidence to show people are starving?

[EllieFAntspoo]

I don't think the majority of people in the country understand the scale of the problem. The government (any government) has a vested interest in concealing the truth from the people, and the media have a vested interest to maintain the status quo.

[shipinabottle]

www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/03/victims-britains-harsh-welfare-sanctions

It must be easier for you to believe everyone on benefits is living it up on cigs and alcohol and food banks aren't needed than people are dying.

By the way you can only use food banks after being referred and can only use them a certain amount of times

[shipinabottle]

Swww.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nearly-100000-of-britains-poorest-children-go-hungry-after-parents-benefits-are-cut-10079056.html

You must live in an affluent area kardimyli or walk round with blinkers on if you truly believe no one is starving in the UK.

[shipinabottle]

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nearly-100000-of-britains-poorest-children-go-hungry-after-parents-benefits-are-cut-10079056.html

Link should work hopefully

[EllieFAntspoo]

A little perspective here. The poorest person in Britain today is richer than half the people on the planet. People who are truly impoverished are willing to risk rape, murder, starvation and torture, and walk half way across the globe, just for the chance to get into our country. And let's face it, if you can't attend an interview and win a job when your competition is a non-national that only has high school English as a second language, you are a pretty sorry 'job seeker'. People don't work through idleness and/or misguided pride. Yes, some people have disabilities and/or mental impairments, but for the rest, I have no pity. There is nothing wrong with standing security on a shop door, pulling pints in a pub, or mopping floors in a school at night. It's a step on the ladder and a damn site better than sitting at home watching Jeremy Kyle.

[Kardamyli]

ship the article you linked to is not about people starving due to the rate benefits are paid being insufficient. All the anecdotes in that article are about people who have (rightly or wrongly) had their benefits stopped for a temporary period. There is no suggestion in the article that any of the people mentioned were starving before their benefits were stopped. The problem was not that the benefits were not enough but that the individuals had been sanctioned. Two completely different issues.

[shipinabottle]

Ok please listen to this man who phoned a radio station in desperation as he had no money on benefits .
www.lbc.co.uk/heartbreaking-call-the-man-too-poor-to-eat-101623

[shipinabottle]

It's the second voice clip down the page, I remember listening to this as it happened and I was so upset that this man was broken.

Luckily he was offered a job which is all he wanted as he certainly wasnt living the high life on benefits

[EllieFAntspoo]

I've lived for extended periods of time on £15 a week for food. I've lived for short periods of time on less. I know I can go for more than 14 days without consuming food at all. I did not do these things through choice, and I did them in twenty first century Britain. It is definitely not easy, and definitely demoralising, but unless you take responsibility for yourself and make wise decisions with the money you are given, no-one else can help you.

[Viviennemary]

People who are sanctioned should be given food vouchers and then that might stop all this talk of starving people in the UK which is utter nonsense.