What tax do you most hate

[Taxta]

I’m torn between stamp duty and inheritance tax.

The ones that aren’t being collected from the billionaires.

Inheritance tax is my far the most despicable tax ever implicated.

Inheritance tax is evil. Particularly the rate being so high.

I do think income tax and VAT are quite nasty as well though - we just kind of accept them now

IHT is one of the easiest to avoid/reduce if done in time and with the right advice. It also affects a v.small part of the population.

VAT

All tax.

VAT, it has the biggest impact on those least well off as they spend all their money and so a large chunk of it goes to VAT. I wouldn't get rid of it but I'd reduce it, especially on more essential things.

Stamp duty is so weird as well though, yeah. It's basically VAT on houses imho.

I agree with you. We’re in the process of moving after being in the same house for 34 years, and I was really shocked by how much we will be paying in stamp duty. It also makes me very angry that our daughter won’t be able to live in our house when she inherits it because she will need to sell it to pay the inheritance tax 😡

I’m a Tax Inspector. That doesn’t really give me a special insight except from a compliance point of view, but it does mean I’ve pondered this a lot.

I am a huge IHT fan. It affects surprisingly few people but the societal fairness arguments are, in my view, compelling. I would raise the rate a lot but ensure the threshold keeps going up.

Stamp duty land tax is an awful tax. Ideally I’d abolish it altogether or find a way to replace it. It has awful societal effects.

i sometimes wonder if inheritance tax should be 100 percent. Imagine how much social inequity that could address.

stamp duty is a sod though

Inheritance - the people who gave it to you were taxed when they earned it, taxed when they saved it before retirement and after. They most likely used some of it to have a comfortable retirement and/or for their care in old age. Their prudence should be commended Most likely their beneficiaries helped them in old age and may have made financial sacrifices by leaving jobs etc. The state is effectively punishing the deceased and the living for living responsibly and saying assets they already took tax for are fair game for the next generation to be taxed on whilst they are in a state of grief. I'm a left winger, I believe in taxes, but not inheritance tax. They already took money from those funds and even without inheritance tax the beneficiaries savings will be taxed. Deeply unfair.

Stamp duty, definitely.

EDIT: Posted too soon. And council tax. Mainly because how it’s implemented is really not fair -the bandings are insane.

In most cases, and yes there are exceptions, they didn’t earn it. They’ve had a massive untaxed capital gain.

This. Don’t mind paying for things myself. I do mind that society altering amounts are left on the table so billionaires can keep everything.

I think inheritance tax is fair, I see it as taxing people for services they had during their lifetime but didn't pay enough tax for. Instead at the moment that burden falls on the collective children of the future (national debt). I would like to see it increased but it seems to enrage people disproportionately, many of which will never have to pay it.

I would like to see more tax on packaging (paper and glass of course exempt).

Council tax at the moment seems to a lot of people to be very poor value for money, especially when you see how much you pay for the police, who don't seem to want to bother to turn up for a burglary but will slap a fine on you for going a couple of miles an hour over the speed limit.

I guess council tax is not really a tax though.

TV licience also annoys me a lot. This should be split into 2 components, one for the TV infrastucture like transmitters, the regulator etc and the other for programming content. The first should be compulsary for everyone who watches TV, the second optional.

Council Tax because it's totally regressive. Our contribution to local services should be based on ability to pay, not the size of our property.

VAT on labour charges. Much of the money you're paying will be collected as income tax, NI and taxed company profits, so the VAT you pay is tax on top of other tax.

stamp duty and council tax

and would it kill the government to raise up the tax allowances this year

it's already zero or very low on food, utilities, trains and kids clothing. What other essentials? adult cloths can be bought very cheap anyway

Stamp duty is punitive and should be abolished - certainly for homes under say, £1m.

VAT is too high. It hits everybody's pocket regardless of ability to pay. VAT should also be reduced/removed from a whole bunch of stuff.

Fuel duty is massive and unfairly affects people who live rurally.

Gambling winnings should be taxed at a high rate like fags and booze.

Big corporations are smarter than all the tax men so are impossible to tax without international James Bond strategies.

Cakes should never be taxed, ever.

Council tax by a mile. I just cannot understand how your ability to pay is determined by the value of your house. And don’t get me started on the amount what it’s spent on

IHT is absolute evil. I very much hope the next government will abolish it.

That would be a disincentive to saving. People would spend rather than save, and be reliant on public funds for care costs.

Stamp duty for me. Bad for the individual, bad for productivity, bad for housing stock.