Rachel Reeves can’t win, can she?

[anothervoter]

After days and days of negative press and chatter about income tax going up, complaints on Mumsnet and across the media, today’s reports are that idea might be dropped and now she’s being accused of rattling the markets and making the cost of borrowing increase.

Honestly, genuine question- what can she do?

Resign. She is unfit for the post of Chacellor.

They’d have to if it became their legal responsibility.

Not sure why it’s become so complicated that solicitors are now official tax collectors? Even if this theory were remotely accurate, the professional involved would more likely be an accountant.

I imagine in reality, it would just happen through your self assessment. You have to declare your residency status on there so if that changed you would then need to declare your assets as if they had been ‘disposed’ and a taxable charge would be made on those.

Whether your money was or wasn’t in a UK bank would be immaterial - you would still be responsible for the tax due.

Have never heard of the economic models for growth where taxes are used to raise investment and increase growth?

I asked you earlier: Do you want tax cuts funded by spending cuts?

Where has that ever worked?

Why would someone leave the UK and sell the business that is making them money, removing themselves from a market of 70m people?

Its just another scare story, along with "the wealthy is anyone earning £45k" another one reported on this morning is a tax on milkshakes 😂

Its just getting stupid now.

Maybe look up Norway. Their wealth tax increase from a couple of years ago was forecast to raise an additional $146 million tax revenue.

Instead, individuals worth $54 billion left the country leading to an overall loss of $594 million in tax revenue.

So not only did the forecasted revenue not materialise, they lost an additional $448 million.

Yes, it’s all scaremongering……

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/10/super-rich-abandoning-norway-at-record-rate-as-wealth-tax-rises-slightly

No solicitor is going to take responsibility to HMRC for the correct amount of tax payable by an individual. There are too many variables and they will have to rely on the information provided by the client. They just won't take the case on. Its not worth their PI cover, the premiums of which are already enormous. So nice idea but it wouldn't work.

We are all directly liable to HMRC for our mistakes. Even if your accountant gives you duff advice, HMRC doesn't see that as a defence. You just have to sue your accountant yourself for professional negligence if you want any recompense.

Well plenty of people are doing it. Isn't the boss of Revolut off? Jim Ratcliffe now lives in Monaco and is waiting for this Labour government to go. Makes perfect sense to get out while you can. The hope is once there's a new government they may come back but I suspect the country may have been ruined by then.

Growth will come from the private sector. Not public "investment". And businesses need to not be hammered by taxation so they can invest in their own growth, create private sector jobs which dont require public funding and support people's pension pots.

Just to confirm before you respond with questions is that a yes to tax rises?

Ratcliff moved to Monaco in 2020.

Why would anyone move to the UK after enjoying the South of France? he kept his businesses in the UK.

Boss of Revolut is supposedly off to UAE, how does the UK compete with their 0% tax regime? his move is due to him rumoured to be selling his stake in Revolut, saving him an awful lot of CGT.

To get out of all recessions, public sector investment is vital, the private sector isn't going to fix water, isn't going to build a bridge, re arm the country, build rail links etc etc.
What on earth do you think the Northern Power house was all about? or HS2 or funding the Ch tunnel? or building transport links such as roads?

Do you not follow the rational for these projects.

Like i said, following one economic model blindly, that over the last couple of decades, has not worked, is the definition of stupidity.

We need both sectors.

I just told you, i think we have failed to address the growth issue, even when the UK had CT at 19%, one the lowest in the G20.

Low taxes on their own, just make some v wealthy, there is no requirement to invest.

You mentioned Germany earlier, Germany has some very high businesses taxes, yet has, with pubic sector investment (see their vaccine research) boosted growth over the decades, yes it has stalled now but what are they doing? cutting back or pouring money into defence spend?

I also asked you before you hit me with a series of tax questions whether you support tax and spending cuts, which you ve failed to address, yet want answers to your questions.

No I dont "follow the rational(e) for these projects". We need private sector growth not for the private sector to be hammered and to shrink. Because that will mean no public money to spend.

And to use The Northern Powerhouse (ahem) and HS2 as a positive example is interesting. To level up the north we need business tax breaks. Not trainlinks to encourage workers down to London.

I didn't use these 2 to support my argument, in fact because both have been cancelled, growth forecasts are now through the floor.

Bottom line is, the private sector won't or cannot invest in things like transport links or power.

Both vital for expanding growth.

I don't think you actually know what the Northern power house was set up to do.

Business wont invest in a region without transport links, without a skilled & healthy workforce and exporters wont invest unless they can easily get to our southern ports.

I dont think the HS2 cancellation has caused "growth forecasts to go through the floor".......🧐

I know exactly what the Northen Powerhouse was set up to do. It hasn't worked. One of the main reasons the NE is so poor is that there's not much big business and not much of an ecosystem that attracts wealthy people. Eg there's only a tiny financial and legal sector as there isn't the big business to support. So there aren't many wealthy professionals living here; they all bugger off to London for decent well paid work. If you want to stop the brain drain to London you need big business. So you need to lure business by tax breaks so there's an incentive. Pretty obviously.

That’s still not an answer. Is there a yes in that?

No its not "obvious"

Businesses wont move to a deprived area, regardless of tax breaks if they cannot get a skilled workforce, get to work, reliable trains, access to healthcare, decent schools that aren't crumbling into the ground.

As i said, we need both, when CT was at 19%, did we have growth?

Look at what Ireland did, 12.5% CT, coupled with a skilled workforce (public sector investment) hi speed internet, transport links, access to EU markets

Thats obvious.

The Northern Powerhouse is business led and it appears to be working pretty well.

https://www.northernpowerhousepartnership.co.uk/productivity-data-show-green-shoots-in-closing-north-south-divide-as-greater-manchester-named-productivity-growth-capital-of-uk/

I think HS3 and a rail link between Oxford and Cambridge would be true investments that would help the country. As would be several dozen, small modular reactors spread around the country evenly.

Trouble is, the state moves all available cash into current spending to placate the special pleading from different groups which the BBC then amplifies. The government calls things “investment” which are really expenses.

Then, when there is an actual government attempt at true investment, it costs orders of magnitude more than it should due to heavy handed regulations that all civil servants seem incapable of managing and politicians seem incapable of changing.

No, you re clearly wrong, growth ONLY happens with tax breaks 🤔

I completely agree with your last paragraph. It’s where PPI was flawed. In principle it was a great idea but it was executed atrociously - poorly regulated, contracts “negotiated” by amateurs on the client side and a license for the providers to print money. Such a shame.

Before all that, tax breaks need to be applied. We pay the same level of corporation tax here that in London. But without the work or wealth. So the profits are significantly less.

Do you live in the north East too? You paint a bleak picture...

Not really made its way to the North East sadly.

"the North" is not all one homogeneous blob.

I think the rail line should go Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester then Liverpool. With not a lot of stops. It needs to be fast. This would turn these cities into a mega-city to counterbalance London and the Southeast. You’d have a linked population of 5 million. You’d also be linking several major universities.

Businesses struggle to attract talent because none of these cities on their own are big enough with a deep enough labour markets to support dual career couples across their 30 year careers. With a super high speed line a couple could meet and marry at any of the universities, get first jobs at any of these cities, buy a house, start families and settle children in schools knowing that even if either of them needs to change jobs, they will have a good chance of finding something suitable and commutable without selling their home snd disrupting their children’s education.