“Tax the wealthy” (RR budget) what does this even mean?

[gggddjkki]

I don’t remember anxiously waiting for budgets like we have the last few years earlier on in my adulthood. But when you read statements like this (as I have seen in the headlines today) what do you interpret it to mean? What does taxing the wealthy look like to you? Taxing higher earners more? From what point? Higher taxes on industry?

No we weren’t. I personally didn’t receive £150, I didn’t miss it and it won’t make much difference when I get it this year. The broadest shoulders were employers.

Good for you that you didn't miss it, not all pensioners were as lucky as you, did you remember to decline it this year, though the deadline had probably passed now if you haven't yet.

I’d never decline it. It will go straight to the foodbank as usual.

You see...Blossom not only does good but tells everyone else that she does good. The perfect left winger.

Can’t win, can I? Either I’m a greedy bitch who accepts money I don’t need or I’m a do gooder. 🤷‍♀️

It’s really interesting - I don’t remember being that interested in budgets as it has some impact but not huge and you could choose to economise - less booze, less petrol etc. But the changes now feel like they are making penalties on things people have already done for their financial future - inheritance tax, property tax which many of us haven’t factored in, it’s feeling like they are government can’t be trusted and that any plans could be thwarted. So yes I am more apprehensive about the budget which I have not normally felt

I feel the same.

I think it’s more a case of the signalling being used to batter posters over the head, in order to drive home your point.

In the nicest possible way, of course.

I only said it would go to the foodbank. In what way is that “battering anyone over the head”?

Yep plus they pledged not to raise taxes at all pre GE so I’m not sure how they’re getting away with such huge hikes.

And?

What huge hikes? We don’t know what’s planned.

Well, there have to be huge hikes somewhere unless they want to have another go at reining in spending. After backtracking on benefits reform I don’t think they will have the appetite to be as bold as needed to balance books without significant tax increases and they have basically said tax rises are going to be in the budget. The question is who gets hit and how much it hurts. Not optimistic.

Most owned by younger people are also heavily mortgaged. A “wealth” tax by definition would only tax the equity, not debt! It would be impossible to administer appropriately. It’s also a really silly idea because property is an illiquid asset and the majority of wealth for people who are actually wealthy is not held in property, so once again it would be a way of hammering the middle class who already pay far higher tax rates than the wealthy.

She needs to stop doing all of this economically damaging tinkering and actually remove the inequities and cliff edges in the tax system that are harming economic growth, and do the right thing which is to raise income tax, and remove the exemption from NI from pensioners. What she’s been doing already breaches her statements pre-election so the manifesto is now irrelevant.

Meanwhile she needs to overhaul public services; means-test the state pension; scrap the NHS and replace it with a continental European system that actually works; double the education budget and invest in decent infrastructure and put a sensible trade and industrial policy in place; implement new systems that prevent cash and black market working especially by sole traders; reform transfer pricing policy; and force UK tax havens to declare beneficial ownership of all assets properly.

Not a chance in hell she’d do anything sensible though. It will be more of blaming the Tories/ Covid/ Russia/ aliens 👽, Zombies 🧟‍♀️ etc…

Here’s another reminder of Reeves’ pre-election lies:

Labour's manifesto is, "fully funded and fully costed - no ifs, no ands, no buts… no additional tax rises."

"I have been very clear that every policy we announce, and every line in our manifesto, will be fully costed and fully funded."

“Nothing in our plans requires any additional tax to be increased.”

“We’ve got the Office for Budget Responsibility now… You don’t need to win an election to find out [about the public finances].”

“I don’t believe that fiddling around with tax rates is the best way to grow the economy.”

Whoever is saying tax the wealthy, they mean someone considerably wealthier than the person saying it.

Plenty of incentive to work, though not for shit money in the public sector if the pensions are shit too. You'll have to import a lot more immigrants from South East Asia and Africa for whom it sounds a good wage.

It was the burden left to them by the Conservatives who left us with the highest public debt, borrowing, taxes and spending we've ever had and produced one of the most damaging budgets in history.

What position do you think they'd be in now in office?

Why weren't people so up in arms about all the hundreds of pounds a month they had to pay out overnight due to the energy price rises that were allowed between 2021-2023? My energy bill more than doubled and our mortgage went up by £100 almost overnight, most people's a lot more than that.

No government in the past has ever had such an adverse effect on my family's finances and quality of life in such a short space of time and I'm a high earner! I will never forgive the Conservatives for that.

What short memories people have.

Yes this level of lying, followed by the first budget which had a £70bn borrowing and tax hike.

And whatever next because that budget hammered growth.

£450b spent during an international emergency ensuring everyone’s wages were paid.

You are correct. Short memories indeed

National emergency where they wasted billions giving contracts to their profiteering mates. Just after wasting billions on Brexit before that.

They are talking about her going after Motorbility vehicles today. Nobody really knows. I think assume that if you’re a home owner she’s going after you.

It’s very interesting that when people slate the Tories for 14 years of mismanagement (such an overused phrase), they always remember to include Brexit and Liz Truss in their list of things we must never forget they got wrong but simultaneously omit the fact that the first five years were in a Coalition government- so do the LibDems bear any responsibility or do we need to revise the figure down to 9 years of mismanagement?

They also forget to mention Covid which cost about half a trillion and the Ukraine war which tipped us all over the edge.

I would love to see how Reeves and Starmer would have managed the last two.

P.S. Absolutely no fan of the Tories who shafted me with some of their more socialist policies.

Those firms that employ all the people - good idea!

There was a thread recently where people were describing their experiences with getting help for SEND and how difficult it is.

Does anyone want to go on that thread and tell those people their kids shouldn't have help because it's too expensive?

There aren't millions of "scroungers" around whose benefits can be painlessly cut no matter what the Daily Mail tells you. We had fourteen years of Tory government trying to cut benefits - why couldn't they manage it if it was so easy?