Moving to England

[Iwouldratherbesailing]

We are seriously contemplating moving to England due to the on going threat of Scotland gaining independence. We are not English, but both work in finance / economics and are well aware of the economic devastation that independence will wreak. We have worked hard for every penny we have earned but stand to lose the lot should we have a GBP mortgage to pay with devalued Scottish wages / overly inflated higher rate taxes. Has anyone else made active plans to move? My employer will be pulling out of Scotland should independence happen, but I would be allowed to work remotely here. It’s just the ongoing level of stress that I find hard to handle. If only I could be as naive to the damage as an SNP voter.

[quote forfucksakenett]@user1487194234 what control freakery would that be? [/quote]
Keeping us locked down far longer and harder than south of the Border.

That ridiculous hate bill legislation.

And that's just for starters.

Far longer and harder is a bit of an exaggeration.

The government south of the border have been trying push through some pretty dodgy legislation themselves.

Suppose it just depends on your values and outlook though which is the lesser of two evils.

Whatever
Comfortable with my values

I'm sure you are and I certainly wasn't suggesting you wouldn't be.

Different strokes for different folks 🤷🏻‍♀️

We have just sold our house and are buying south of the border, the threat of independence being a major factor.

I'm not Scottish and live in London.

Just wondering, for those who are planning on leaving - are you not tempted to stay by the likelihood of Scotland re-joining the EU?

I'd like that chance.

Re joining the EU is pie in the sky. It will be decades before Scotland could meet the entrance requirements.

The biscuit (not flower) came about when Mumsnet was seen to be key in deciding the results of a UK election (yes, really) so all the important politicians came onto do a series of Q and As and all were asked what their favourite biscuit was. One of them (can't remember who) refused to answer (I think), hence the biscuit.
Showing my age there

@MintChocAddict

The biscuit (not flower) came about when Mumsnet was seen to be key in deciding the results of a UK election (yes, really) so all the important politicians came onto do a series of Q and As and all were asked what their favourite biscuit was. One of them (can't remember who) refused to answer (I think), hence the biscuit. Showing my age there

Great wee piece of MN history. I always wondered how it originated.

ha ha, it was Gordon Brown - curiosity got the better of me and I just had to look that up.

There's a whole thread on here about the biscuit icon . Quite funny
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3459997-To-think-a-biscuit-is-meant-to-be-patronising

An update and continued derailing of the thread (for anyone who's interested )
I've just looked back and it was Gordon Brown who appeared not to answer the question.
It turned out that his eyesight meant that he was having trouble reading all the questions coming in and apparently missed it. It was quite a big drama at the time

X post happygolurkey

It's like a wee party political broadcast in a thread. I feel I have to go watch Comrade Tommy for 20 minutes to balance it out.

@user1471519931

Why not move to Ireland? Same language, part of the EU, in 5 years you could apply for citizenship, regain your European citizenship with freedom of movement and all the other benefits...

So if people dislike the idea of Scotland becoming independent from England, they should move to somewhere that became independent from England a hundred years ago?

I think if you move from London to an independent Scotland you’ll get a nasty shock. Only 44% of Scottish adults pay income tax. According to the GERS figures Scotland spends £2000 more than it collects in income tax every year. There is going to be a hefty tax increase the way of anyone that earns in Indy Scotland.

@Iwouldratherbesailing income tax isn't the only way countries generate money though is it?

@Iwouldratherbesailing

I think if you move from London to an independent Scotland you’ll get a nasty shock. Only 44% of Scottish adults pay income tax. According to the GERS figures Scotland spends £2000 more than it collects in income tax every year. There is going to be a hefty tax increase the way of anyone that earns in Indy Scotland.

The percentage of Scottish tax payers is in line with the UK and England.

Income tax isn’t the only way that countries raise tax, but it would be nice if the SNP could come up with some innovative suggestions of how they might do things differently. They just don’t though.

They wanted to get rid of Council tax (a tax on assets) and replace it with another income tax (a tax on earnings). Why keep taxing earners? What’s wrong with council tax that taxes wealth? I’d happily pay 1% of the value of my house each year in council tax - 4 x what I currently pay - because it would be a fair way of raising taxes than hitting earning every time. And why freeze Council tax when councils are crying out for money? Because freezing Council tax makes councils dependant on the government’s hand outs and the government can control councils?

@Iwouldratherbesailing

Income tax isn’t the only way that countries raise tax, but it would be nice if the SNP could come up with some innovative suggestions of how they might do things differently. They just don’t though.

They wanted to get rid of Council tax (a tax on assets) and replace it with another income tax (a tax on earnings). Why keep taxing earners? What’s wrong with council tax that taxes wealth? I’d happily pay 1% of the value of my house each year in council tax - 4 x what I currently pay - because it would be a fair way of raising taxes than hitting earning every time. And why freeze Council tax when councils are crying out for money? Because freezing Council tax makes councils dependant on the government’s hand outs and the government can control councils?

Sorry I'm lost on your line of argument now. You seemed very averse to paying more tax yet you want to pay more tax? It seems that you only want to pay tax based on the price of your property but not based on your income yet income tax is obviously based on wealth ( more so than council tax).

They've frozen council tax as many families ( regardless of the price of their property) are struggling.

Wealth and income are two very different things. Wealth is the value of your assets. Income is how much you earn.

I am very happy to pay taxes, as long as they are balanced fairly. So if have lots of assets and little income (a lot of the middle class pensioners around here) you pay little tax, whereas if you have high earnings but high outgoings (mortgage) the tax burden just gets steeper and steeper. The answer to all funding gaps just now seems to be to up the income tax...

Anyone that earns over £27,200 in Scotland pays more tax than they would if they lived in England.

If Scotland votes for independence you won't be the only one OP, far from it. I have several friends who will move rather than become citizens of the socialist republic of Sturgeon. You will be welcome south of the border.

Yes and a recent times headline - 1 in 5 pensioners is a millionaire. Whereas the youngest adults have been hit very badly during covid by unemployment, face an absolute battle to find a decent affordable place to rent or buy.

Council tax freezes help those who've already achieved these life goals

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/money/2019/mar/09/actually-the-rich-pay-lots-of-tax-but-on-income-not-their-wealth

Wealth v income and why raising council tax is a good start.

@zafferana

If Scotland votes for independence you won't be the only one OP, far from it. I have several friends who will move rather than become citizens of the socialist republic of Sturgeon. You will be welcome south of the border.

Apparently there’s a new four day working week so there is an extra day to be spent at home avoiding offending the HCB; I would have thought that both of these policies must also be part of the independent Scotland.