Income tax - top 45% rate scrapped! Bonkers!

[HoppingKangaroo]

The 45% top rate of tax (which currently applies on earnings above £150,000) will be scrapped entirely. How will this help the economy? It will just add to the government debt and it just helps out the very weathly.
Why not have more help for the poorest in the country and not have tax cuts for the very wealthy.

Quite frankly the idea that higher earners should pay a higher percentage of tax is disputed by many economists. Indeed the idea of a flat tax of say 25% on all income would be welcomed by many economists.

I'd like to suggest my pet snail is as likely to create growth as todays budget is.

Well you don't get growth by taxing success.

You might not have made offensive statements but others have. We have had references to people being low life, grasping, scroungers and all manner of other put-downs.

Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with people stating that they think something is selfish. That is a point of view, rather than an insult. It's valid in this kind of debate, I think.

Sociopathic is offensive, I agree. I'm sorry you were called that.

If you mean growth in terms of the wallets of the wealthiest, and more attractive to spivs and chancers who only care about themselves and not the country or the people in it and who will leave the moment someone offers them a slightly better deal, then you're spot on.

It's certainly a bold strategy, Cotton - lets see if it pays off for em.

How so?

The entirety of Scandinavia would disagree with you.

@WagathaChristieMystery I think you have cracked it, and @Luckydip1 must indeed be Liz Truss. I’ve never heard of anyone else capable of vapidly repeating the same empty talking points so endlessly whilst completely failing to address all substantial points of intellectual content. Good job!

Are you soundbite central or tory HQ - can't quite decide.

I think it has certainly become apparent that you don't get growth by voting Tory.

@Luckydip1 again, you're defining success in financial terms only. Do you really only see success in monetary terms?

Variance from the population mean is around 70% heritable.

Are you implying that you don’t believe that either?

Having a nanny state sounds comforting but it's not sustainable.

They're out of their minds. I also think that it won't be long before they are using the paltry tax cuts to justify cuts in all kinds of public services, and asking for small 'contributions' (which will act as a Trojan horse for far bigger ones).

Nanny state!! Do F off. The only people being nannied are the rich.

Again, Scandinavia gives the lie to that.

I quite agree. All the benefits, free language lessons of languages they already speak, subsidised lunches and so on need to be stopped for Tory MPs, who are so work shy that they refuse to reply to their constituents correspondence.

Thanks @Quincythequince , sounds like we agree on more than we disagree on!

@Luckydip1 can you please give us the names of some of the economists who recommend a flat tax? Because I am pretty sure I could rank them against ones who find the idea appallingly regressive.

No-one’s suggesting that you do that though, only that you stop being so resentful of people who made different choices to yours.

@Blossomtoes I am pretty sure that Scandinavian countries have not provided the same level of nanny state support to "VIP" companies with connections to ministers as the UK has, so they can make obscene profits whilst children don't have enough to eat.

If we had the natural resources that Scandinavia has we wouldn't be in this mess.

Yes, it is indeed a great shame that the Tories sold of all our natural resources to other countries at greatly reduced prices.

Scandinavia taxes high earners a similar amount to what the UK does, but taxes middle and low earners far more highly.

If people like you paid your fair share we could have Scandinavian-level services, but instead you want to keep your taxes low and have the wealthy pay far more.

I disagree with this. I think culturally, scandanavia is massively different to the rest of Europe.