AIBU to want spending cuts rather than more tax rises?

[PinkFruitbat]

The foundations are being laid for more tax rises in the October Budget.

https://www.ft.com/content/6d43b599-3d7c-471c-88c2-0f056475a840?syn-25a6b1a6=1

AIBU to ask for savings in spending to help balance the budget rather than more taxes.

With welfare spending at nearly £1bn each day, when is enough, enough?

Lol at your idea of a 25% cut to the Civil Service. Do you think they're all Whitehall policy wonks?! The vast majority of Civil Servants are immigration officials, jobcentre support workers, tax collectors, prosecutors, border force...etc. If you cut 25% of them you will end up with a far worse and more costly situation than we have now!

Can someone who wants the triple lock to end tell me what we should replace it with? We hear it all the time I would like to hear some solutions.

It is. It's taxed all in it's life and when you want to pass on something to the next generation to make life a bit easier for them the state comes it, steals it to fund the benefits of others.

No. I think we should all pay more tax - obviously the very high earners should pay the most.

Nothing. People get the state pension and they ideally live off their private pensions

I don’t understand why people disagree so much with means testing benefits and state pension either.

A complete audit on social housing.
Fraud, subletting, people who have other properties anywhere must be asked to leave.

And put an end to health tourism and misuse of NHS resources.

Replace it with nothing @lazyarse123

Why are you so keen on this? It’s slowing down the job market already.

Where do you think they don't demonstrate neutrality?

I think the problem is that we could all pay much more tax but have no faith that this would translate into improved services instead of disappearing into the massive black hole of debt interest repayment and welfare spending, so anyone fortunate/daft enough to be a nett contributor to the exchequer would be worse off but would see no tangible benefit whatsoever - not only for themselves but for anybody they know. We could double the tax rates and eliminate the tax free allowance but does anyone really think that would equate to A & E waiting times drastically falling, GP appointments being abundant, spotless streets and that everyone who needed it had adequate social care? Not a chance, and that is why there is understandable resistance to tax rises from those that pay them.

Me too. I think UBI would actually encourage people to work. Wages + UBI gives a better standard of living than UBI alone.

But how are you paying for the UBI?

Or maybe make working age benefit claimants fill those vacancies .....

I completely agree re: UBI. I think it’s inevitable anyway with the rise of AI, unless of course the bubble bursts 🤞 benefits staff no longer required so I guess it could be paid for that way.

I do agree that some people who are very rich could pay more tax. They are so rich they would not notice it. They cannot spend it in their lifetime. I am talking about billionaires and people with about ten million etc. A donation to the coffers, whatever. It would be good if they could.
Those who default because they don’t believe in paying tax at all should be chased for it. The amounts are staggering. All money we could use. And need. But they chose not to pay. Although probably would expect the fire engine to turn up if their house was burning. Some companies get out of paying what they should despite making vast profits here by registering abroad. I would change the laws on that. And make them pay.
A review into some benefits is needed. Not popular but needed. The rise in cases for ADHD is not sustainable. What payments are made, and who to and how much need looking at. I am not advocating no help by the way, just needs looking at. And the money some people are making out of diagnosing people.
Pensions I would not change. People have paid in extra contributions, can look up their forecast and have been told for decades to expect a state pension. Changes that are significant would bring legislative challenges that would be expensive and long.
The NHS I would start to ensure that when they are given money, they agree and state what it will be precisely used for. What improvements will the public see for what money?

There is a lot to do.
Social housing is desperately needed. And payments that get paid to private landlords/hotels whoever for people who could use cheaper social housing if there was some is money wasted.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned trying to reduce the cost of government borrowing! We are spending billions on debt interest - a similar amount to the entire education budget!

This will come down if the govt takes real genuine steps towards reigning in spending - thus giving markets confidence about the long-term viability of the UK economy. But it would need to be politically difficult major cuts. Eg: scrapping the triple lock would have a double whammy of substantially reducing the welfare bill and reducing govt interest payments.

If I was Andy Burnham I'd get a multi party consensus on scrapping the triple lock - so that no single party would take the blame and thus lose future elections (realise this is pie in the sky).

Welfare spending is on course to exceed £400 billion by the early 2030s - nearly half of this will be pensions, so something has to be done.

Disagree. With any system that requires judgement and assessment of human circumstances will need a human to do it.
AI I would not trust for anything complex or requiring a level of human understanding. It would not have it.

Yes !!
And must be measured against the barromiter ...is this fair to the UK tax payer.

It’s all hot air anyway. Burnham and Healey know perfectly well that if general taxes increase appreciably they’ll stifle growth even more. If inflation rises, which it probably will, the cost of borrowing will rise yet further and, absent growth, the government will be in an economic death spiral. And they can’t make cuts because Labour backbenchers won’t permit it.

The budget will just be a flat affair with lots of talk about jam tomorrow. Then Burnham will start thinking about an election. He’d be mad to try it but he’s got no options apart from ‘something might turn up’.

@Monty36 totally agree re NHS.
Id even be happy to pay a little extra of I knew exaclty what it would be funding as said before air con , more beds ,more hospitals ,more weekeend staff !
And I could see that tangible difference eg in six months 3 out of Four hospitals x y.and z will have air con in all vital areas.

Well maybe him trying an election is a good thing !

I have one private pension which gives me £46 a month after tax. Not everyone had the opportunity or the money to pay into a private pension.

Do you want us all to live on less and less while prices go up so we drop dead quicker?

Agree with this - Burnham needs to stand up to and, somehow, overide the fiscally ignorant, ideological backbenchers. They were Starmer's downfall and will be his too unless they are reined in