We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

MSE News: Government to reveal how taxpayers' bills are spent

Options
This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"Every taxpayer is to receive a personal statement spelling out what the Government is spending their tax on..."
«13

Comments

  • Radionotme
    Radionotme Posts: 126 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Interest payments on the national debt account for £363 – somewhat ahead of the £329 for defence and more than double the £153 for the police.
    Does that include contributions to the police through council tax? I suspect the numbers would change considerably if not.
  • JimmyTheWig
    JimmyTheWig Posts: 12,199 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    The statements are said to be part of the Government's drive to make the tax system simpler and more transparent.
    They may be "said" to be part of that, but I suspect that they are part of the Government's war on welfare.
    The more they can spell out how much welfare costs, without detailing how much good the vast, vast majority of that money does, the more people will blame those receiving it for today's problems.
  • Consumerist
    Consumerist Posts: 6,311 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Radionotme wrote: »
    Does that include contributions to the police through council tax? I suspect the numbers would change considerably if not.
    I suspect this exercise will be a rather simplistic distribution of your tax bill so will only include that proportion paid out of income tax.

    Arguably, HMRC is the most dysfunctional government agency; do we really need to give them any more to make a complete hash of?
    >:)Warning: In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
  • stphnstevey
    stphnstevey Posts: 3,227 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    So most of my money is going to benefit cheats-great!
  • Paul_Herring
    Paul_Herring Posts: 7,484 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Specimen statements prepared by the Treasury show someone on £25,200 a year sees £5,702 of their income go to the Exchequer in direct taxation.

    So they're basically not going to be worth the paper they're written on. For someone earning £25,200 in 2012/2013:
    20% tax :£3,545.00
    Employees NI: £2,156.64
    Employers NI: £2,501.66 (And yes - this is direct taxation - if the employer wasn't paying it to the government, they could pay it to you; it's a direct consequence of your employment)

    So there's £8,203.30 of direct taxation due to your getting a £25,200 gross wage.

    And this doesn't touch on other 'direct taxation' some of which others have already mentioned that come out of what's left:
    VAT@20%
    Council Tax
    Duty on tobacco/alcohol/fuel.
    Conjugating the verb 'to be":
    -o I am humble -o You are attention seeking -o She is Nadine Dorries
  • AirlieBird
    AirlieBird Posts: 1,046 Forumite
    And this doesn't touch on other 'direct taxation' some of which others have already mentioned that come out of what's left:
    VAT@20%
    Duty on tobacco/alcohol/fuel.
    They are indirect taxes.

    Another worthless and expensive exercise that this Government partakes. I suspect most people that receive this will treat it as junk mail and throw i straight in the bin. Most people just won't be interested. Most of those that do care where their taxes are spent would probably know where to look for the information. If the Government insists on this then I would rather a calculator be provided on the internet and taxpayers notified of the calculator through routine correspondence that would be sent to the taxpayer anyway.
    Did you really mean to put loose?
    Lose: no longer possess, not to retain, unable to find
    Loose: not firmly or tightly fixed in place
  • AirlieBird wrote: »
    They are indirect taxes.

    Another worthless and expensive exercise that this Government partakes. I suspect most people that receive this will treat it as junk mail and throw i straight in the bin. Most people just won't be interested. Most of those that do care where their taxes are spent would probably know where to look for the information. If the Government insists on this then I would rather a calculator be provided on the internet and taxpayers notified of the calculator through routine correspondence that would be sent to the taxpayer anyway.

    You've missed off the group that isn't interested in facts and will instead believe whatever nonsense information is reported in the Daily Fail.
    Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam
  • Paul_Herring
    Paul_Herring Posts: 7,484 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    AirlieBird wrote: »
    They are indirect taxes.

    No - they are direct taxes since you pay them directly. Just because someone in the government said they're not doesn't actually make them not.

    Indirect taxes are those that the businesses, that collect them on behalf of the government, pay (business taxes, taxes on profit etc.) which result in the increased net cost of the product.
    Conjugating the verb 'to be":
    -o I am humble -o You are attention seeking -o She is Nadine Dorries
  • AirlieBird
    AirlieBird Posts: 1,046 Forumite
    No - they are direct taxes since you pay them directly. Just because someone in the government said they're not doesn't actually make them not.

    Indirect taxes are those that the businesses, that collect them on behalf of the government, pay (business taxes, taxes on profit etc.) which result in the increased net cost of the product.
    Which is exactly what VAT and excise duties are - taxes imposed on the producer and collected by the producer but ultimately paid by the consumer. I've never paid VAT or alcohol duty directly to the Government.
    Did you really mean to put loose?
    Lose: no longer possess, not to retain, unable to find
    Loose: not firmly or tightly fixed in place
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.6K Spending & Discounts
  • 244K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 599K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.