Only the employed seem to pay tax?

[Taxevasion]

This is annoying me. Met a person recently that owns a lot of property (multi-million) that is let out in various ways but doesn’t pay any tax. Whatever they do is legal but the fact is they don’t pay tax so don’t contribute to the costs of running the country.

So am I being unreasonable in thinking this is very unfair? It seems that only those of us who are employed and pay tax paye fully contribute.

My dh is retired and pays tax on his pension from his employment.

That's a rather naive and childish view to take based on one person, isn't it?

Self employed dh pays tax.

it’s virtually impossible to pay no tax.

That's a bit like me saying 'AIBU to think that nobody on mumsnet understands self employment' - meeting one person and believing what they say about their tax situation tells you precisely fuck all about anyone else's tax arrangements.

What do you think fuel duty, stamp duty, alcohol duty, capital gains tax, council tax vat etc etc are?

They aren't immune from taxes. They still pay them in various different ways.

If you mean, why doesn't everyone pay a rate related directly to their net worth, thats a different question. If you mean, why are people able to get good accountant to minimise their tax liabilities. Thats also a different question.

But they do pay tax. Just not in a way you think is fair.

Retired people pay tax. Investors pay tax above threshold. Your contact was either lying or a crook. If the latter, report him to HMRC.

I own a property which is let out and pay a metric fuck tonne of tax.

Ate you sure?
We rent out a flat and pay tax on the income, my DPs pay tax on pensions, plenty of people pay tax on savings ....

That’s not how renting out properties works, you not understanding that doesn’t mean they pay no tax on their profit.

It’s not too wide of the mark. The UK tax system is focussed on taxing earnings as opposed to wealth. It’s easier to administer for HMRC and harder to avoid. It’s wrong though. When people can sell a house they’ve lived in for 30 years and walk away with 90% of the sale price in unearned profits something is very wrong with our tax system.

They might not pay income tax, but they’ll pay VAT, fuel duty, council tax etc. The same way that “unemployed scrounges” still pay tax when they buy cigarettes.

How do you know they pay no tax?

If they are not paying any tax, in any country, right now, it's because they are not getting any income right now. It could be any of the following:

• they own a company, and it is paying tax on profits, and hasn't paid them any dividends or salary this tax year
• they have had a bad year and expenses (mortgages etc) have exceeded the income from their properties
• the money they are living off is capital which has been taxed when earned etc

Trust me (this happens to be my area of expertise) - there is no lawful way for an individual to have a load of income and be paying zero tax. Unless perhaps you live in Monaco?

Remember, if this person is buying stuff out of the capital they already have (despite having no taxable income) , or properties, they are paying VAT, alcohol duty, stamp duty, vehicle excise duty, various other taxes which are in fact contributing to the running of the country.

When people can sell a house they’ve lived in for 30 years and walk away with 90% of the sale price in unearned profits something is very wrong with our tax system.

I agree with this, although I think there needs to be some form of rollover relief for gains on your primary residence, otherwise property price rises would trap people in the first property they bought, as an attempt to move on would mean tax ate away the value of your deposit relative to rising prices.

@toconclude

Retired people pay tax. Investors pay tax above threshold. Your contact was either lying or a crook. If the latter, report him to HMRC.

That’s the reality. Lots of people talk crap and lots of people illegally evade tax by not declaring all their income. Your friend will almost be one or the other. Either that or they simply don’t understand tax returns and put rubbish on their tax return.

There are very few circumstances where someone making money from property won’t be paying tax.

Have you thought that perhaps they don't personally pay income tax, but own a Ltd. company that does before they can take any money out?

it's one individual - but if you think he is commiting tax fraud, report:
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/report-fraud-to-hmrc

Loads and loads of my SE friends don't pay hardly any tax and I know because we discuss their tax returns because try know I do tax returns for other people.

You may have got the wrong end of the stick. You have to pay tax on rental income. You get something like a £1k right off but you pay tax on the rest of the income. (This is based on having to declare income myself from being a landlord in past years.)

@Taxevasion

This is annoying me. Met a person recently that owns a lot of property (multi-million) that is let out in various ways but doesn’t pay any tax. Whatever they do is legal but the fact is they don’t pay tax so don’t contribute to the costs of running the country.

So am I being unreasonable in thinking this is very unfair? It seems that only those of us who are employed and pay tax paye fully contribute.

Please post the details of this tax-free renting scheme I'm very interested it's an absolute scandal that must be exposed to the cold light of analysis.

Is this a wind them up and watch them go thread?

I said yanbu because you’re right that the wealthy don’t pay enough tax (I’m not talking about taxes going up, just people not being able to exploit loopholes)

But it’s not only the employed who pay of course

I'm self employed and pay a shed load of tax.

I complete tax returns as part of my job it is VERY unlikely they are paying no tax.

@HoldmecloseTonyDanza

Is this a wind them up and watch them go thread?

Yup.