to not understand why the government couldn't just raise income tax?

[emkana]

I guess that wouldn't help with all the savings that had to be made (or so we're told), but why no tax rise at all?

German newspapers very critical of measures btw, saying it will kill the already ailing British economy.

You what? You do remember that we had to borrow billions to bail out the banks, don't you? This deficit is not caused by inefficient public services or even excess spending on public services (unless you count avoiding a banking collapse as a public service!)

The deficit was not caused by the banking balls-up, the recession was. The deficit was always there and always would have been there - even if we had never had the banking crisis. The fact that we have had the banking crisis has just forced us to focus on how out of control our public spending was. Most of us were so busy going about our business with our heads up our arses we didn't question whether it could be maintained in the long term.

It couldn't.

Riiiiight

The IFS made it clear yesterday (and nobody either Govt or Labour disagreed) that the richest 2% of the population were the ones hardest hit by the Governments plans. I am not sure how that is, but while I wait to find out, I shall reflect on the fact that this year, my income tax rate has gone up to 50% so my effective rate is 52%, I no longer have a personal allowances and my pension contribution allowance has been cut. I don't actually begrudge any of these changes as I take the view that we're in dire straits and these are the consequences but would be interested in how much more tax, above 52% that OP thinks I should pay?

DH and I are both the same.
No personal allowances.
Taxed at 50% at higher rate.

I don't cheer when I get my tax bill, but I don't duck it either.
DH the same.

How much more do you want from us? Really?

I don't want to pay any more tax thanks - by the time I've paid my income tax, my council tax, my national insurance, my car tax I'm already handing over close to 60% of my income.

"I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilisation"

I think that because of the fear that they will be taken negatively, the tax rises are not being publicized to the extent that the cuts that they think they can spin.

"If the government follows through on this spending review, public spending in 2014-15 will be 4% lower, in real terms than it is today - but account for roughly the same share of the economy as it was spending in 2005-6."
From Stephanie slanders blog.

£184K a year in tax and NI is nothing, GMM. A mere trifle.

Think how much tax I will be paying on my new salary of £230K a week. And I don't begrudge paying a single penny of it to those who need the money more than I do. Now stop being so selfish everyone.

TethHearseEnd (or anyone else with a point to prove)

Im not an economist, I just get my information from the BBC news and The Times, and draw my own conclusions.

If you can give me any indisputable facts and figures that show I'm wrong about the deficit, and that it was caused directly by 'The Bankers' and that we were not, in fact, overspending wildly beyond our means before the recession, then I'd be eternally grateful. I'd hate to seem ill-informed.

GHH, as far as I am aware, the deficit increased dramatically following the banking crisis.

This was due to lower tax receipts and Government measures to boost the economy, protect jobs, avoid a depression etc.

There was a much smaller deficit prior to the crisis, yes. However, it isn't particularly unusual for Governments to run a deficit, it's generally conceived as sensible economics in certain situations and viewed as cyclical. Certainly, the tories were happy with the spending levels - they committed to match them.

Exactly, hubbly. The Tories supported Labour's spending plans up to the crisis in 2008, meaning that whatever proportion of the deficit isn't crisis-related would have been just the same had there been a Tory administration. The Tories can't have it both ways, trying to say that the deficit is Labour's fault but not crisis-related.

I woudn't worry about not being an economist, GHH. We all know the shadow chancellor isn't one, but neither is the Chancellor (2nd class degree in history). He is crossing his fingers and hoping this enormous gamble works, but there is little evidence in the rest of the world that it will. AFAIK, the only country to have tried such a fiscal tightening so far is Ireland, and look how well that's going.

Nancy66, you have more control over the council tax and car tax that you pay. You can buy a smaller house to pay less council tax and you can buy a car on which you will pay no road tax at all. You are not forced to hand over 60% of your income. And that's even before you start to take into account what the return is on the money paid out.

I found this site fascinating. Try the calculator to see how much income tax and NI you might pay if you were paid more - or less - than you are.

Has no-one pointed out that not that long ago, workers on minimum wgae had their tax bill DOUBLED. If we have had to go through that pain, why in hells name can't someone on HRT have their tax bill increased by a small percentage?? DP's tax bill doubles overnight from 10% to 20%. As IF that didn't leave us considerably worse off.

And as for a company not existing without a CEO...he's hardly going to go down to the grass roots and get his hands dirty actually DOING the hard work, is he? The truth of it is that none of these companies would get anything done, or make any profits, or get his massive bonus, if it wasn't for the very poorly paid workers that actually do the work. Maybe if these CEO's weren't so bloody greedy wanting £200K+ a year, and looking to profits before paying their employees a living wage, their workers wouldn't have to work for less than £12K a year. Which is impossible to survive on in this day and age, without some form of top-up from the government.

Oops Slanders was a typo not a comment on her.