Labour and tax

[Iwishicouldflyhigh]

Is anyone else concerned about all the talk about Labour getting in and then increasing lots of taxes - capital gains, CT, tax on pensions etc. I'm accepting that they are going to get in, but i am genuinely concerned that they are going to clobber the middle classes.

I don't think that KS is a bad person (actually - with a few exceptions - i think that most politicians at least START in politics with the correct intentions), but i 'm worried that his genuine ideals are far more left then he is making out. The rich will be all right (they always are), but the middle classes (of which i am one) - i'm genuinely worried. He supported JC for God's sake!!

I think that people are genuinely so pissed off (rightfully) with the Tories, that they are voting in Labour with the idea that they can't be any worse. But i'm concerned that they might be (for different reasons).

Can any party really fix the issues in this country?

Please talk me down, someone!

I don’t think that’s what he was saying. I don’t think he meant it literally.

@Rubblefrompawpatrol

I think CGT on housing is a poor plan. Much better to scrap stamp Duty and council tax and charge a % of a house’s value as an annual local tax instead

Where would the valuation come from? We ended up with negative equity after the crash in 2008 - we literally bought the house just before the crash. House more than halved in value, value didn't increase much from there as house prices in area stayed low.

When we wanted to sell and I approached our lender they thought the value was £90,000 - nearly 10k more than we paid rather than the around £47,000 we ended up having to sell for.

I'd have been pissed off to pay council tax based on the £90,000 valuation plucked out of thin air when it was worth half that.

If he didn’t mean it literally, why haven’t Labour come out with a proper definition of who they see as a working person. Even Rachel Reeves struggled as she tried to cover lots of different scenarios, some of which implied it was people who had used up their savings.

If you use a definition to define your policies then they should clarify what that definition means. To me, I think savers will be the target, maybe removing Personal Savings Allowance, ISA’s, Pension contributions etc

What is the basis of your conclusions? his definition was pretty precise to me. Do you believe that potential PM does not realise what he's saying? or cannot express himself correctly?

Of course he will tax us more - what else is he going to do to get all this money?!

It's who exactly he taxes that matters though isn't it?

And how he uses the taxes raised

Higher taxes isn't bad if the taxes are fair and proportionate , society is happy and healthy and fulfilled - no child poverty, good health and education for all that kind of thing

Low taxes is bad if the poor are disproportionately taxed , and the taxes lost to paying your mates crap company for dodgy goods , and paying your family for "consultancy" to give you an excuse not to invest in things important to the general population

Council tax rumours again on one of the news channels. Rebanding will not make it cheaper for anyone.

Student loan changes also rumoured to be making it more expensive to go to uni.

More expensive fees, less interest = cheaper overall

Currently the money people benefit whilst students and unis don't

I agree with @Wetellyourstory
Labour have said they won't touch income tax, vat or national insurance.

So they haven't ruled out;

Council tax, non-doms, capital gains, removing ISA exemption, removing pension inheritance tax exemption, removing pension lifetime allowance, or indeed introducing completely new taxes.

I hope they go the other way and borrow, go to 110% GDP/debt ratio and invest.

Well I won't be voting for labour due to reasons that have been highlighted here. However on the flip side change is good.

This country has gone to the dogs since brexit and covid. Surely part of the reason why its turned to a shit show and no money for anything is due to paying back furlough and keeping 90,000 ' undocumented people ' in hotels up and down the country ( mainly young men and unskilled). Where does the money come from to build housing for these individuals?

On a radio phone in this morning, KS was asked about the 25% tax free pension lump sum and said that this runs out in a few years time and does not intend to extend it.
Labour HQ when asked to clarify this said they wouldn’t be removing it.
Sounds to me like left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.

Re Labour and tax:

Either liar or completely incompetent. I'm voting tactically against Labour

Has Starmer announced yet that he is going to tax women more because he doesn't know what one is?

That’s a very narrow view of what has fucked our economy and I suspect you are getting your perspective from narrow sources. Fact check your statements (put ‘fact check’ and then your statements into google and see what comes up) to make sure your decisions are rational rather than emotional. Sorry, that sounds patronising and I don’t meant to be, it’s just there is a lot of hyperbole, misinformation and dog whistling going on, some of it coming from Russian bots trying to destabilise us.

This election more than ever (as we head towards the chaos of climate change and an impending WWIII) we need to very carefully choose who is at the helm.

FFS. Give it a rest. This is the stuff that is really doing my head in. This election is so important. We are heading towards a world war, climate chaos, food shortages, health and social care crisis, prisons full - social unrest. Now, more than ever in my 50 years alive, we need to choose wisely. I’m not telling you who to vote for but please stop with the hyperbolic dog whistling, this is actually a really perilous stage of history.

Thank you for the kind advice.

@Noddedoffagain
Well actually part of my job involves working with 'undocumented people' in a city centre and I can tell you the hotels are rammed with mainly males age 22 - 30 , basic or no English and unskilled. Now if there is 90000 ( OK I agree this is probably exaggerated by the media) who pays and builds housing? There is a shortage of builders ? Who pays ? Middle earners likely. Do other countries provide homes and welcome parties for young men arriving illegally on boats?. After your 50 shite years, I hope your next 5 years are perfect, hope you wake up next Friday in Eutopia!

There are by some estimates a million empty homes in the UK.

"There are by some estimates a million empty homes in the UK."

Do you mean homes not own by anyone? or do you suggest expropriation of second homes?

The people I know who are most concerned about the possibility of paying more tax are the ones who can most easily afford it and who go to great lengths to use the system to avoid paying it.

We are a very average income household but I am happy to pay more taxes and not reduce NI if the government spends it wisely on public services such as health, policing, education and social care. We have an aging population and the money has to come from somewhere.

Empty as in not lived in.

Depends on what you want. No tax rises and the country still shit, nhs still shit, schools still shit no police etc...or pay more and it gets better.
Have to say I'm just as skint under tories and the country is still a mess.

Most right minded people wojldnt mind paying a bit more of they saw a difference in services. Under this gov, I've got poorer and I've now given up even trying to see a gp or nhs dentist.

We already pay more tax then we did a few years ago. Tax bands have been frozen, we’re paying more and I don’t see any improvements. If they can come up with a detailed credible plan that shows exactly what improvements we will all see, and if everyone pays in more, then I’ll be happy to pay higher taxes. What I’m not prepared to do is pay more tax when millions aren’t, and have nothing to show for it. It’s all very well people on here saying they want higher taxes when in reality they won’t be the ones paying it, or only paying a very small amount more. Not saying this is you pp as I don’t know your financial situation, but I’ve seen lots of posts saying this.

On average under the Tories we are paying £13,000 more tax than when they came into power.

This

Everyone I know is worse off thanks to the Tories. Not just financially, but accessing healthcare, education for their children, even things like the state of the roads and cars getting damaged by pot holes.

Who would vote for another term with them raising taxes and giving us nothing for it?!