to think the budget of 13bn cuts maybe some good news

[agentEgypt]

Some changes to housing benefit to stop it pushing up all rents would be good.

Also I'd like to see some kind of land tax to replace council tax. Then all the overseas people that buy properties to leave empty would be hit. Also this could hit buy to letters and remove some of the unfair tax breaks that encourage it.

What would you like to see?

Would you prefer they were ghettos for rich people like most of London, then?

I don't believe they should be making any more cuts to welfare.

I think I'd go down the tax route:

Higher tax on BTL income with no relief on mortgage interest. Also get rid of lettings relief for cgt.

Align IHT with CGT - scrap IHT, make death a chargeable transfer for CGT purposes so any inheritance in excess of the Cgt threshold (11k) is taxed at 18-28% with entrepreneurs relief available for passing on business assets rather than BPR and APR.

Tax windfalls - any betting wins, lottery wins etc. Any gifts over say 25k get a 10% tax.

Restrict PPR relief for cgt to the price of an average house - admittedly you would need a higher banding for London and the South east.

Higher rate Tax relief on pension contributions restricted to 10k of contributions per annum.

"Would you prefer they were ghettos for rich people like most of London, then?"

Me? No, I think housing costs in London are ludicrous, but I don't see how building housing elsewhere for people in receipt of housing benefit helps.

First time round the Tories claimed that the bedroom tax would bring down rents. It didn't. Why would it be any different now?

Rather than housing benefit, proper rent control on all new leases would make a massive difference in driving down artificially inflated prices.

bobby wash if it weren't for NHS admin staff, you wouldn't get that appointment to see those front line staff, you wouldn't get your imaging scans done safely, your medicines and bandages wouldn't get ordered or delivered, your clinical trials to discover new medicines would never run, the books would never balance, no one would answer the phones. Don't bash the admin staff, they fulfil a very important function and quoting David Cameron's guff about 'too many NHS admin staff' just makes you look as uneducated on the matter as him.

Love all of your suggestions clash! Hopefully your along the right lines, seeing as income tax and vat they've promised won't go up, there's other stuff the must have to tax and all of those are good targets.

YABU to think the Tories will do anything other than let the cuts fall on the shoulders of those least able to take the impact.

I work, get above minimum wage pay, live in a HA property but yet still need half my rent paid for by Housing Benefit.

Instead of cuts i would also go down the tax route. Why is it the poor and those in need who get affected/punished by the government. Why do the rich people/big companies get to keep all their many millions.

Why do the rich people/big companies get to keep all their many millions.

They don't. The top 10% of earners pay 75% of all oncome tax.

Vivien - it's interesting you say that.

I've friends and relatives dealing with a variety of hospitals atm and tho' the medical stuff has been fine, there have been so many cock-ups with appointments - letters arriving too late, dates for scans after the appointment to discuss them, delays in biopsy results - 6 weeks in one case.

I did wonder if this was the result of NHS 'efficiency' savings.

Vivien Your opinion and that's fine, it doesn't conincide with mine, or my experience or dealings with people who work in the NHS. Which may not conincide with yours.

As I understand things, the NHS is the 5th largest employer in the world with something like 1.4 million employees, of those 1.4 million the clinical breakdown is (approx figures)150,000 doctors, 380,000 qualified nursing staff, 155,000 qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff, oh and 37,000 managers. Now in those employees not listed are porters, cleaners etc, but that still leaves a pretty large admin staff.

I'm not suggesting for one second that the NHS is privatised, but as with BT when it first was, it would be made leaner and a layer of middle management would be the first cut.

and I can't type coincide (twice) - jeez apologies

Why do the rich people/big companies get to keep all their many millions.

They don't. The top 10% of earners pay 75% of all oncome tax.

but overall the poor pay a larger percentage of their income in tax.
that's because VAT, Fuel duty, VED, Duty on cigarettes and alcohol, TV license, and council tax are all set at the same rate no matter how much you earn.

The US has a system to prevent housing benefit pushing up rents; it's called sleeping rough.

In response to an earlier post...

VAT avoidance or planning in Jersey/Guernsey for low value imports (HMV/Tesco/Play etc) was blocked three years ago Apr 2012 by the UK Government. (VAT avoidance was no physical presence in Channel Islands just goods exported there, then reimported to UK; VAT planning was physical presence - staff and warehouse)

Tax planning in Luxembourg for downloaded music, films and books (Amazon/Apple etc) was closed under EU VAT legislation on 1 January 2015, and this was planned and known about from 2009 when the EU legislation was first published. Downloads in the EU are all taxed in the local country of purchase now. However, due to the massive impact to the Lux economy, the VAT benefits to the other EU countries are being phased over several years.

The OECD is doing a massive project on BEPS, (base erosion profit shifting), which is a global -not just UK -tax problem (Starbucks, Ebay, Amazon etc).

Although profit shifting for avoidance purposes doesn't sit well with me, I do agree with lower corporation tax rates as it makes the UK really competitive for global businesses locating here, creating jobs and opportunity for UK plc. Global or large businesses genuinely do have massive investment costs so it is right that they have tax relief for this - this isn't avoidance, but the media do like shock stories about some huge names not paying any corporation tax in the UK. They fail to mention that they've paid billions for expansion costs, replacement of infrastructure, technology costs or trading licences (Vodaphone & some other mobile phone companies) so it is completely right that no CT is due. Just another 'tax avoiding fatcat' for the masses to moan about.

I wouldn't want to see any cuts. I don't get off people who are not as fortunate as myself suffering.

Just a thought, and im sure there are many many reasons why it wouldnt work but - why not have large blocks of flats/rooms available just for unemployed or low income people? Have a central canteen where a main meal and breakfast is included free, in the same way as schools serve up school lunches.

I know it doesnt sound very sunny but having seen a program where people are renting terrible mouldy damp rooms and struggling to afford food or heating, or relying on food banks, wouldnt this be a better situation for them until they get more on their feet? Id rather have that than be dumped in some scraggy b&b for months and months.

I wouldn't want to see any cuts. I don't get off people who are not as fortunate as myself suffering.

Thats some big, misguided, assumption that every cut sees people suffering.

Most people don't understand that's cuts dont all equal reductions in benefits.

storm I don't want to see large numbers of people living in blocks of flats with a central canteen. That would be like living in a hostel just because you happen to be unfortunate enough to be out of work. Benefit claimants are already stigmatised enough without forcing them to live in some unemployment block of housing where they have to use a canteen because they can't be trusted to cook for themselves.
I thought the suggestions of prepayment cards which was bandied around a few years ago was bad enough but your suggestion is even worse and would leave to people feeling totally demoralised.
Would you want to live in the conditions you suggest? Would you be happy living like that with children?

Administration is a side effect of A lot of clinical roles in nhs. Before people start shouting about getting rid of administration they really need to consider if they want to pay.me a band 6 to do more administration or would they like me to seeore patients and pay a band 2 administration. same analogy with consultants bit Even greater pay disparity. Be careful what you wish for.
Now if dc wants to make a wise investment and actually get the bloody computer systems working together and actually reduce the paperwork ad he once promised I would be so impressed i might even vote for him!

Of course hb increases rent. It increases the demand for housing, therefore what it costs.

I am at the around this point, it's simple demand and supply. It isn't the same as saying it should suddenly be removed overnight.

HB shouldn't be needed by many people if there was enough housing to rent at an affordable price. But there isn't.....

why not have large blocks of flats/rooms available just for unemployed or low income people? Have a central canteen where a main meal and breakfast is included free, in the same way as schools serve up school lunches.

That sounds very suspiciously like Workhouses. I bet the Tories LOVE that idea.

why not have large blocks of flats/rooms available just for unemployed or low income people? Have a central canteen where a main meal and breakfast is included free, in the same way as schools serve up school lunches.

that's a great idea! why don't the MP's adopt this approach for themselves instead of having ridiculously expensive 2nd homes in London with extra bedrooms they don't need!
Get all them in a hostel serving food so there will be no more ridiculous expenses for breakfast cough Iain Duncan smith

I'd like to see fewer stupid threads like this.