Popular cuts and popular taxes

[jollydiane]

Can we think of anything which we could agree on?

1. The national lottery is a type of tax, but nobody is forced to pay it and we all like the thought of winning a million pounds so lets increase the tax up on this.

1. Winter Fuel allowance. This is scary for all governments but it cannot be fair for higher rate tax payers to receive this benefit, scrap this allowance they managed to do this for Child Tax Credits so it cannot be that hard.

1. When I went to Turkey I had to pay for a £10 Visa to get into the country, lets have the same here for tourists. After all many of our best tourist attractions are free any way so its not much to ask.

1. Can we scrap the free swimming for over 50, would it really put the over 50s off swimming if they had to pay a few pounds?

1. How is it that so many big projects go so wrong, e.g. NHS IT system, what system do we have that allowed this to happen?

1. There was talk by the government that if a pensioner paid £8500 they would have all their care paid for and would not have to sell their home. Although I have not heard much about this I cannot think this would ever be affordable.

1. Do we really need Trident are there better alternatives?

If we can agree then perhaps we can give this to our MP's or let Ed and David know we have solved their problems

Ok over to you

Cut foreign aid, cut EU contributions (difficult I know), abolish 50% tax rate, abolish inheritance tax, cut business taxes, but bureaucracy in public sector, fire all diversity and equality local gov officers, cut number of MPs more than Cameron's already doing, fewer free services for pensioners

Then you're left with introducing a general anti-avoidance rule as the Australians have but that brings in it's own challenges

Other European countries do this far better.....nothing is explicit but if you, MegaCorp don't do your tax paying bit, then all sorts of small permits get harder, state contracts don't come your way etc etc.

Yes, but that's the $64,000 question isn't it -when does a transaction have little or no commercial value? Of course you're right only the courts can give a definitive view on that in any individual case but in the meantime the rest of us muddle along trying to work it out as best we can.

bemy - No the courts would always have the right to interpret the law. They are still the ultimate arbiters. As I understand it a GAAR would be used to indicate to the judges how tax statutes should be interpreted and that should be done in a way which is perhaps a bit more purposive then is generally done at the moment. However, I think it is extremely difficult to see how this would work in practice. No judge is going to tax a taxpayer who falls outside the charge to tax just because there is a GAAR, are they??

Cut WFA for people non resident in this country (like my DH's aunts and uncles who mass-emigrated to warmer climates and have no heating bills at all.

Free bus travel for my MIL has transformed her life though.

Some interesting ideas on here, but I fear a lot of them would simply make people feel happier about things rather than make any real tangible difference. Not to say they shouldn't be done, but something more fundamental really needs to happen otherwise we're just peeing in the wind. Some examples:

• cut all foreign aid - foreign aid is under 0.5% of total UK spend
• cut MPs wages - at a rough estimate, MPs wages cost less than £100mill a year, i.e. approx 0.001% of UK spend, so halving or quartering their wages, or even making them work for free, would be barely a ripple in the great scheme of things (as an aside, the setting up of the parliamentary expenses body to oversee expense claims following the scandal cost 6 times what was actually claimed by MPs in the first place)
• winter fuel payments - less than 0.5% - and also, remember, any real means testing of these kinds of universal benefits usually ends up costing more than it would save

There's a lot to be said for cutting certain benefits but, at the same time, not taxing people as much in the first place. I can't remember what the exact figure is so happy to be corrected, but something like 20p out of every £1 the government collects in tax goes on administering all the payments etc so taxing people then giving it back in tax credits instantly reduces the actual amount given by 20% - much more efficient to let them keep it in the first place.

I'd strongly encourage people to go and have a look at the guardian "gov spending" link posted earlier, its a real eye-opener. Hopefully someone smarter than me can come up with the perfect tax and cuts policy ;)

Spot the contradiction:

1. Mervyn King has suggested banks do not pay dividends or hand out bonuses, but build up their balance sheets to withstand the comingstorm

1. Banks know Mervyn King will bail them out in said coming storm.

What size bonusses and dividends do you think they will pay :)

I didn't realise children got free bus travel in london, I pay £13.60 a week for my 5 year old to get the bus [contemplates moving to london but realises that what I save in bus fares I will lose in rent]

I don't understand why it's free in London but not elsewhere in the country. As if londoners don't get enough. I friggin hate being in the north east at the minute

I don't think MPs are paid unreasonably. In fact, many of the most able would earn far more out of politics. You could get rid of some of them, which is happening, anyway by way of boundary changes. No need for quite so many in certain parts of the country.

What about a supertax on things like very expensive restaurants, jewellery, couture, cars, etc?

And less VAT on essential clothing, such as the winter coat I need for my nearly 15-year-old, who now needs to wear adult sizes. Or the thermal underwear we wear when we're working in the house (no heating on during the day)?

I would say that basic coats, warm underwear, warm sock and boots should be low-VAT, subsidised by bloody Mulberry handbags, Dior frocks, etc.

Govt procurement needs a complete overhaul. DH works in public sector and some of the waste / overcharging he sees is unbelievable. Replacement PC's which could have been bought from PC World for £550 cost over £1000 because they had to be procured from approved companies who, as soon as they see purchase is for govt dept/council etc see the £££ signs racking up.

Why not introduce a low capital gains tax on sale of property - say 5% - every time anyone sells property. And a low inheritance tax on all estates - again say 5 or 10%, rising for estates worth over £1M

I also know members of the police service who make sure they collar someonel in the last hour of their shift so they then get several hours of overtime to process the suspect. My DFather was in the police (centuries ago.......) and they were never paid overtime.

Rethink PFI?

Kayano - what do you think that Londoners get that you don't in the N East?

Hello again, we seem to get a lot of rain at the moment. Good post about Vodaphone btw - I'm certainly learning a lot.

The police have always claimed overtime the best of all being a cancelled rest day on a bank holiday. I have been told by a very reliable source if this happens at Christmas it PAYS for Christmas. One day work paying for a family of 5. Thats a lot of money!

I think if we are going to tackle the huge problem then we probably need to look at VAT and income tax. When I started work I'm sure income tax was about 28%. As a previous poster said everything else might make us feel better but will not solve the problem. At least with income tax it is clear and usually east to collect.

I think Tax and VAT are at their limits.

Its just looking at your diagram that you posted I cannot see how we can tackle such huge numbers.

Hmm, that government spending chart is interesting isn't it? Makes you realise why the govt are going after DLA claimants, Housing Benefit and Higher Education becuase there are large sums being spent, yet it's nowhere near as politically unpalateable as cutting pensions, the NHS or schools.

I was just commenting on the free buses in regards to London for teenagers. We don't get that here and I was quite supposed by it. I don't think it's necessary.

But, we also have gangs on the streets, the congestion charge, residents' parking, high parking charges generally (have spent £3.20 today just doing a few jobs), a two bedroom flat where we live is circa £350,000 - £500,000, the schools are dreadful at secondary level, etc., etc..

Admittedly we also have vibrancy, theatres, museums, the River Thames, Big Ben, Buck House, the London Eye, etc. but it comes with a high price tag if you have to live here.

Its just looking at your diagram that you posted I cannot see how we can tackle such huge numbers

Benefits - they can fritter away at all the other stuff but they have to go after benefits. But its very unpalatable socially and politically, but its the only thing big enough to go after. Politically they have to go after the benefits the public overall don't approve of/care about, and/or manufacture disapproval - so it all becomes pretty predictable.

What would foreign aid come under? Its odd that the things you think are going to be expensive are actually tiny compared to the pensions an nhs

kayano - there might be free bus travel here but (correct me if I'm wrong) minimum wage is the same despite living costs being far higher.

Would it be possible to have a stratified minimum wage across the country depending on average living expenses like rent etc? Or would that make the SE even more congested..