To ask what you'll be doing to avoid the Labour tax hikes

[OptimismvsRealism]

Pension contributions
Gift aid
Selling my shares now while CGT is relatively low

What really worries me is that all the professionals we actually need to want to be here will just fuck off elsewhere, though.

It's not like we're knee deep in hospital doctors.

Because it was likely paid for with taxed income (probably 45%), and with higher stamp duty? And just because your house is larger/worth more it doesn’t mean you use council services more? But let’s just bash those who have done well again, it is the British way under Labour.

Exactly. I’m sure the Labour party accepts donations.

Chances are, by scaring us all now, Starmer will then announce less tax rises in October, so CGT and IHT and higher rate pension contributions i.e things that don't really effect most people.

Couldn't give a shit about IHT, i'll be dead, i wont be paying it.

I believe the latest figure for annual voluntary tax receipts was for 2022 and it was £200 (not a typo). Presumably that was a MNer or two

Nope, CT has never been based on "services used" its a tax based on valuations done in the early 90s, long before more recent price bubbles.

If we continue as we are, Council tax will, within10 years, be totally unaffordable for most people, with CT per year 6k plus p.a in many areas, it has to be replaced.

why should someone who has done well, pay proportionately less than someone else who has worked equally hard but is in a more modest house?

A wealthy person wont really be affected by paying a few '000 more will they?

How would you propose we pay more to care workers?

I mentioned this upthread, and needless to say there was no stampede from folk saying "I already do!!"

Though if *Pleasebeafleabite's *figure of £200 being the total take from this, that's perhaps not surprising

How would one person making voluntary contributions improve the country? People aren’t happy to pay more for nothing. They want to pay for improvements and to go back to a time when half our streets didn’t look like a post-apocalyptic wasteland. (Actually this probably won’t apply to London/SE dwellers).

Imagine if we went to the shops and all that was available was tripe and offal. If someone said “I’d happily pay more for a nice chicken or a bit of steak”, you wouldn’t sound incredulous.

My doctor brother in law and consultant ds are off to Dubai and I don’t blame them one bit. They’ve worked their cards off to be taxed to death. No thank you.

They need to close the loophole on businesses like Temu and Shein who don't have to pay tax on goods sold in the UK.

@iwishihadknownmore in response to “why should someone who has done well, pay proportionately less than someone else who has worked equally hard but is in a more modest house?”

My house is very modest it just cost a bloody fortune because it’s in the south east.

I already spent a disproportionately large % of my income on it, I’d challenge the idea I should be paying 5x as much council tax as someone elsewhere because that misfortune!

I think council tax could be changed and thought out better - but making housing costs even higher for those of us in HCOL areas seems an odd solution.

@Aduvetday

GoldOnyx
Oh and in America, you’ll pay less tax, will you? And you’ll uproot your employees just so you can pay less tax? Nice. Crack on.

"Tell me you don’t know anything about modern day global companies and roles without telling me. This is why the UK has poor productivity. No aspiration. Very Little Britain."

Agree with you - it's depressing the anti aspiration and envy motivated policies. I wish there were policies to come that openly incentivised investment, then there would be more in the coffers to spread equitably.

Yes - what a massive whip round.

But they won’t get a tax break. If they end up getting a tax relief of 20 or 30% and then paying 40% tax on it when it’s taken in retirement it does not make logical sense to contribute. It barely makes sense to contribute to get the same tax relief.

These people will just cut their hours, pay the minimum required to get their employer match and the Treasury loses the benefit of income from those hours of work now and the future pension tax income. Income deferral requires incentives

And if your pension fund invests in UK companies unfortunately you should be aware that the dividends are taxed

I would also pay more IF it were just some flat rate applied equally across the UK but it doesn't have to be does it?

Any replacement tax would need to take into account land values.

Agree 100% CT is unsustainable, millions cannot afford the annual 5% increase

Usual Tory scare tactics. What's with all the Conservative HQ scaremongering posts recently?

Because the US has such a good record on spreading the wealth.

Oh, wait.

In answer to the OP question and assertions that people won't move abroad. People don't need to move. You just need to move your money. Capital flight. It's already happening.

There’s so much stress to moving country though - let alone, moving house! Is it actually worth all that hassle, just to pay less tax. You’d have to uproot your kids too, presumably, which will be hard, I imagine.

I'd love to understand how any taxes on house value would work. Would all houses need revaluing? We bought our house 10 years ago for x value, have done a bunch of work to it and think it may be worth about 2x. Rebuild price is probably x/5. Never had it revalued, not planning to put it on the market. How is the land it is on valued? It is a big plot but steep in parts and so not very valuable as buildable land. I can see agricultural land being easier to value but properties must be a nightmare.

I'll be continuing to live overseas, having left the UK due to the potential impact of Brexit on my career.

Unfortunately for Labour, I think they're now stuck carrying the can for that disastrous Brexit vote and, because they cannot waive a magic wand to solve the problems caused, will likely be voted out in 5 years time - probably handing the keys to Downing Street back to the party who fucked the country in the first place.

Good luck to them...

As I said before the election, I'll happily pay more tax for functioning public services.

How would one person making voluntary contributions improve the country?

Clearly "one person" won't make any difference, @Anonym00se, but there are scores on here insisting they'd happily pay more tax and yet not one has said they're already doing this

Strange that ...

It’s not strange at all. I’m happy to pay more, but not if high rate taxpayers and businesses still get to keep their hands in their tight, deep pockets.

No, it benefits my spouse, my children, future descendants, charitable causes that I may want to gift money to of my own choosing. So it's morally right to take reasonable steps to legally reduce tax burden.

Did you know you can pay extra tax to HMRC voluntarily? An extra donation towards public expenditure or paying off public debt. Unless you do that with any spare money you have, you are making the same decision to minimise the tax you pay. Would you describe that as not "morally correct"?

I don’t think anyone is suggesting a stampede so large that the tailback from Gatwick airport reaches London. It’s more that, professionals with lucrative careers, who are high spenders/earners, may feel suitably incentivised to take their skills/family to another location where their lifestyle is infinitely better. This to me sounds like brain drain in its purest form.