To wonder if Labour actually will be any better?

[Baabaagreysheep]

I think like most people I am keen to see the back of the current bunch, but I am not confident that anything will massively change for the better. Maybe that’s a bit pessimistic, but I feel that while some things will improve some will get worse - and some sort of at the same time, so I’m expecting my salary to go up but also my workload to go up!

Thinking back to when Labour were last in power it was another world, really. Interested in views.

I know someone who has a severely disabled child and of course it is only sensible for them to put their family home into trust for their child's benefit once they are no longer around to take care of them. Said child will never be able to live independently. This seems like a correct use of a trust.
You can do it with life policy proceeds as well although I have never bothered to do so.

It's one of the standard stories of the left. A pot of mythical money that the rich own, that if they get in power they are going to get hold of and spend to the greater benefit of the public as a whole.

Well if it does exist, they have never successfully managed to get it. Healy didn't get it. Brown didn't get it and Darling didn't get it either. So it's either not possible to get it, or its not actually there.

What they will do is get more tax from any people that it is easiest to get tax from.

Which is largely people on PAYE.

If Labour were serious about getting more tax from anywhere else, they could do so by taxing property (it can't move so it is easy to tax it) or shifting the tax to unearned income (CGT for example). But they have never done that either. They could also make death taxes unavoidable, but they won't do that either, because it would make them too unpopular.

So basically it's a cash grab from the demographic least capable of hiding it.

This is what we have done with our will, to ensure the assets can properly be managed for DS. It cost us about £800.

Trusts still work under limited circumstances e.g. if set up by a non-dom before they become deemed dom or for non tax reasons, otherwise GAAR and other anti avoidance rules and ten year anniversary and exit charges means that it's no longer tax efficient for the majority of people to use this structure.

There are a number of types of trust, and they are complex and require very precise wording. That’s why it’s essential for anyone wanting to set one up to consult with a solicitor who specialises in trusts.

tbf my parents were indeed non doms when they established trust funds, so in some ways it was indeed more straight forward.

And what a rousing success that was. A successful bribe that got her into power but her refusal to let councils build more social housing has left us with the mess we're in today. Council houses are rarer than rocking horse shit and a lot of former council property is in the hands of landlords. Meanwhile young people have almost no hope of owning a home while paying extortionate rents with no security.

This. A thousand times this.

I have 3 children, one of whom is out of FT education. He didn't gel that well with school. I didn't pay for private even though I could.

I think people who use money to prioritise themselves over the greater good are selfish btw.

And Thatcher would not let the councils use the receipts from council house dales to build more houses.

Well if you can afford private you’re not doing too badly. The greater good could be donating that.

Parents choose various ways to access a good education by paying for house, grammar, or faith. You won’t find that many who purposely choose the worst school they can.

I'm doing very well. I'm very lucky. I try to spread that good fortune around my local community and economy, rather than look out for me and mine and "I'm alright Jack" to everyone else.

alyso I notice you didn't answer the question about what you think should happen about a ge

You could give it away so there’s more actual equality. I don’t really buy someone who posts as such is more or less selfish than others.

Although I earn enough to pay private fees it really wouldn't go far if I "gave it away". Plus who would I choose to give it away to?
I prefer to pay my tax, not look for loopholes like trusts, and spend as much as I can locally. Plus bring my children up to be around all strata of society so they can appreciate that wealth is luck not a birthrate

Well any charity would be delighted.

Although that’s not different to many then. No tax loop holes here, spend locally, dc mix with many Dc at all levels.

I don’t really count that as a place from which to judge others, it’s pretty low key

Both discretionary and interest in possession trusts are subject to the relevant property regime. These are the two common types of trusts.

The other types that may be tax efficient is the trust for vulnerable beneficiaries and bare trusts set up by grandparents.

But in general trusts are now mainly set up for non tax reasons, they are not the most tax efficient route if you are UK domiciled. Family investment companies became fashionable as the popularity of trusts wained in the last two decades but HMRC are now cracking down on those too.

Anyway, this is all off topic
If you think labour will be "worse" - what specifically will be worse than now?

So I’m assuming if you have enough money to pay for private but don’t, that you live in a nice house in a nice area, therefore securing your DC a place in a good state school surrounded by nice local friends from nice families?

I refuse to believe someone with the means to go private but doesn’t, would also refuse to live a nice area near good schools. Very easy to have principles when you live next door to the London Oratory or some leafy school in the wealthiest part of Surrey. I wouldn’t let idealism damage my children’s future. It’s definitely not their fault the state’s failing apart.

Debt (they're not known for being fiscally prudent), NHS (it's in such a bad state I don't think you can save it in its current form i.e. universal healthcare free at point of use), economy, business, immigration and taxes (I think they will be higher).

Higher taxes for middle class

I refuse to believe someone with the means to go private but doesn’t, would also refuse to live a nice area near good schools.

Your belief is irrelevant to the truth...
I live in a town with one secondary school

So everyone goes to the same school regardless of their income, unless they go private

I don’t really get the moral kudos with this.

93% of people use state schools. It all feels but posturing tbh

I also live in a rural area with a choice of two secondary schools, only one of which covers the bus to school ((5 miles away). Neither school is highly rated academically. Please do tell me how to choose between the options? There isn't a top performing any school within 50 miles of where we live. And, before you ask, our DC spent a year there. and has CGSEs as a result, But he passed on stuff learned before he was 13 and learnt half of fuck all in Y10 and Y11. Badly taught, low aspiration... sums up most state education in most of the UK.

Plus if you’re using a state school rather than stumping up £60k odd a year (give or take) it’s going to benefit your family in other ways