Which taxes should Burnham put up?

[Toohotforwork]

It seems pretty clear that in the Autumn we are in for another massive tax rising budget. Starmer has done of the ground work to show what we need to spend and how there isn't any money, I'm sure the "blackholes" were co-ordinated with the new team for messaging. Labour don't have it in them to cut the welfare bill and to be fair the Tories didn't either - so I can't see that changing.

Which taxes would up increase to fund the country properly?

Personally I'd go the easy route and put 1 or 2p on the basic rate of income tax. It would break the manifesto but one short sharp initiative has got to be better than death by a thousand small increases.

I think the care proposals of getting rid of inheritance tax and replacing it with a 10% charge on everyone is very sensible.

Equalising income tax and capital gains tax seems an easy win as well.

None until after he tackles welfare spending

As a pp said, what is the point of increasing taxes when it will get eaten up by ever increasing welfare expenses… there will never be any end to the need for more and more tax pounds, most of which is coming from a small % of people: why should they foot the bill for everyone?

It becomes a vicious circle of taking money from working people (and I include high earners in that who can’t take much more of the squeeze) and giving it to pensioners and people who don’t work, or work very little because working more means they lose benefits. When will it end unless some really drastic decisions are made to drop the triple lock, sorry pensioners! (But that will impact me too in 15-20 years). Or tighten who gets pip, and I would probably remove adhd/ anxiety from the list of conditions as we’re getting to a stage where we could have as many people claiming benefits as there are working and that seems wrong to me. And then you’d have to tax these workers even more to pay for the ever increasing welfare bill…, crazy situation to be in.

I’d go one further and make people show they are being attended before they qualify. This is a ridiculous benefit whereby it’s given if you need someone to attend but don’t need to have someone attending. I mean, wtf?

My sibling got the highest rate for my DM, which is about £400 a month, so she must have the overnight uplift. There has not been a single carer going in because she doesn’t need one. What she wrote on those forms i have no idea.

I basically agree that the most obvious thing to do before raising taxes is to cut spending. We can never raise enough tax to fund this crazy spending train we have found ourselves on so it is the only sustainable approach.

I would:

• means test all disability benefits unless the needs of the disability are associated with very high costs. The idea that disability should be cost neutral to the individual needs to be eradicated completely and it should be more than the state will help with the costs of a disability if you really can't meet the needs yourself. Yes, it's crap and unfair but that's life and a quarter of us will have these challenges in our life. We simply can't afford to insulate us all from this in the same way the state won't and can't insulate you from being born less intelligent or less wealth than your peers.
• stop the triple lock on pensions

_ put the two child cap back on benefits

• stop throwing money at bonkers levelling up schemes that are very unlikely to deliver benefits to the regions
• stop funding university courses and student loans for courses with low employment prospects.
• reduce benefits for NEETs and focus on making them productive
• stop giving in to strikes by train drivers and consultants. We can't afford to pay them more!

Tax all benefits. Anyone receiving over lowest tax banding in benefits gets it taxed.

Rather than increasing any taxes, redistribution of company profits to workers through better wages and reward schemes rather than to ever rising shareholder dividends would impact both individuals and communities as this money would be likely spent locally. Unlike corporate shareholders whose spending might be elsewhere or just left in an account to accumulate more wealth.

Agree. I used to work in this area and feel it is crazy the low threshold for qualifying for it and very little checks done . And that is before the AA then qualifies people to claim loads in pension credit on top, which then qualifies them for all rent and council tax paid. The claimants themselves were embarrassed at the amounts they were receiving. They should only pay it when care is being paid for in my opinion. Goodness knows how we have got to this situation without it being reigned in. It has all become so hideously out of control.

I think a land tax would only work if farmers producing food for UK consumption were exempt.

Ideally the NHS would be de-sanctified and completely re- structured rather than fannying about with AI diagnoses)
Processes in departments and (really importantly) between departments need forensically examining and made to actually work.
Staff who are off sick more than they are at work need sacking.
British trained Clinical staff should be prioritised for jobs, use of expensive agency staff massively cut.
We need a Co- pay/ insurance system on the lines of EU countries (not America) and the ability to directly contact specialists instead of using GPs as gatekeepers. This would help prevent expensive emergency treatments caused by patients waiting literally years for referrals.
But it won’t happen, because waaay too many NHS staff are entrenched in the status quo.
I strongly object to paying more tax to feed into the endless black hole that is the current NHS, which is shockingly unfit for purpose.
And stop blaming patients for their own poor health. Often it’s utter medical neglect for years that causes this!

Yes I work with so many people on pip who already have money, they blow it on ebay, gambling etc

There is very little scope to raise tax. Labour have got to stop spending our money. Welfare should be means tested. The triple lock should go. If you are on a good salary you should not be receiving any form of PIP or other benefit. The two child cap should be reinstated. VAT on private school education should go. Tax incentives should be given to those who send their children to private school, to incentivise taking the cost of education away from the state. Drilling in the north sea should be allowed.

Also day 1 sickness benefits for employees needs to go as this is utterly unfair for businesses. And minimum wage for those under the age of 21 should be dropped, to encourage training young people.

There is so much cost that could be cut by bringing immigration under control as well.

@Disturbia81

Yes I work with so many people on pip who already have money, they blow it on ebay, gambling etc

Equity only becomes money if the equity is released. Most people will have had to work to buy their own home.

Are you suggesting that people should be forced to release equity?

PIP should only be for people with physical disabilities who need money to pay for additional assistance or requirements. Not for ADHD. I remember a post on Mumsnet where someone said they would sometimes forget to cook for themselves so the money enabled them to get takeaways. We can’t afford this. I know of someone who gets PIP and uses it to pay for taxis as they don’t like travelling on public transport. They have no disability that stops them doing so, they just say ‘it makes them anxious’. In many cases I don’t see how throwing money at the problem resolves the issue. It should be based on specific need.

Taxation whether it be income tax, VAT, alcohol, tobacco, sugar tax or even speeding fines (which are a form of taxation) discourages behaviour.

Subsidies or benefits whether that be heat pumps, incapacity benefits, motability etc encourages behaviour.

If you increase taxation in order to increase benefits then don't be surprised when more people decide not to work.

I don’t think anime in gov is aware of this rn. Hence the every meeting line.

I don’t agree. I worked for a Conservative Council when the Conservative government was in power.

We saved £5million per year, year on year but services suffer. Staff taking on the role of three staff members, service inevitably suffering, large amounts of money having to be spent privately on adult social care and vulnerable/SEND children as there was no money to create our own provision (and catch22 when £100,000+ per child per year had to go to private venture and its shareholders).
Transport cut, families having to transport children miles, affecting jobs and rural communities.

We currently have few environmental services (less bin emptying, less grass cutting, lights out, roads a state, pavements broken, parks and local paddling pools unusable due to lack of maintenance and full of weeds). The library opens limited hours, desperate for volunteers.

What would you cut? Useful information for leaders of councils.

I go to a night class with someone who does exactly this. Her entire family are on benefits for various ADHD, autism (but at the mild end), OCD, anxiety and so on - and we all know this because she tells us. She's a young woman in her early 20s who's been to university and completed her Masters but can't work for some reason - and yet is able to go to various night classes (which she gets taxis to using her PIP - and presumably that pays for the classes too), on holiday, does her various hobbies through the day and so on.

I would also make the categories for what you can spend PIP on more limited - and proof that it's being spent on that.

Nail on the head with all that. The NHS is no longer run for the benefit of the patients and is no longer fit for purpose.

Nail on the head again. Our entire tax/benefit system is not dysfunctional and means fewer people are working and fewer workers are full time. We need a huge initiative/policies etc to get people working and get them working more. We need to disincentivise part time working, early retirement, etc.

I agree with all of that apart from the bit about it not happening because too many NHS staff are too entrenched. I've worked in the NHS for 30 plus years and many of of us are well aware of its failings and of the other healthcare models that could be implemented - but no Govt wants to be the one to act on it. Don't blame us NHS workers please.

EDIT - actually, a lot of poor health is down to personal behaviour, but that's an unpalatable truth for many - with the expectation that the NHS will sort it all with taxation that comes from a shrinking pot because no-one wants tax increases, the benefit system is out of control, and everyone loves a cash in hand job.

I agree with loads of ideas on here and the CMS payments particularly resonates.

I was horrified that I needed tax payer support when my adulterous husband left. We earned the same as we had always earned, he should have had to pay to look after his children!

Benefits need to be tightened, it should be there for short term uneventuality, not forever. Working people cannot afford to keep everyone who chooses not to work. I have a very capable family member who claims. , enough to live on, support with rent No reason at all, just a lifestyle. Frustrating.

My additional thought to others is taxes/duties on imports from companies such as Amazon, TEMU, Shein. This would raise money but additionally would make them less cost effective, giving the added bonus of reviving our own high streets, providing jobs and giving back a sense of community through regular contact with others. Europe has thriving high streets. So many benefits.

Not going to happen without an election to change his backbenchers.

If you can live that lifestyle why would you do anything else?

Exactly - there is no incentive to work or pay into the tax system which funds services and benefits that everyone wants. The pool of taxpayers is becoming smaller as demands on the system increase.