!!!!!! - Clown to raise the top rate of tax to 45%

SingleSue

lostinrates wrote: »

£150k in London is NOT a huge wage at all with housing costs factored in.

I would love just a tenth of that right now......which is also the going rate for jobs around here too.

Saying that, I don't have a problem with people who earn that sort of money and it would be so nice (and in my dreams) to get even a third of that.

beingjdc

Let's say 1 person in 300 earns over £150k a year, and the average earned by those who do is £600k. Raising the tax rate by 5% would actually raise £4.5 billion.

So I don't think "very little difference overall" is fair. It would be enough to cut everyone else's tax by £75 a year, which to some people would make a big difference (it's the equivalent of someone in a small house's Council Tax going up 10%, and we never heard the end of that).

Markyt

needahome wrote: »

the middle classes have done very well out the brown years, its them who should pay to get the country back in order.

I agree, we've done extremely well.

I've paid more in taxes, paid more to buy basic goods, paid bigger utility bills, paid more for fuel, seen higher mortgage rates and generally subsidized the economy so that it didn't fall over sooner. I've seen lots of people lose jobs and many more come under threat.

On the up side, I've seen a definite increase in the number of courses in flower arranging and pottery available in my area, so it's swings and roundabouts, really.

I've never had it so good.

beingjdc

Markyt wrote: »

On the up side, I've seen a definite increase in the number of courses in flower arranging and pottery available in my area, so it's swings and roundabouts, really.

That's interesting, where do you live? My experience of the last ten years (some of it on the fringes of education policy) has been central targets forcing Councils and FE Colleges to cut most of their "lifestyle" courses, and spend the money on teaching people who didn't pay attention at school first time round to read, write, and count.

Which may be the right policy, just sayin'.

Sapphire

Will a cut in the VAT rate affect what we are charged for gas and electricity?

Gas and electricity bills are two things that I strongly believe should be cut – the companies running these utilities are taking the pi**, just like the bankers with their bonuses. Again, the 'government' does nothing to rein them in. :mad:

dopester

Labour is always so predictable. Spend spend spend, borrow borrow borrow, then when the following crisis hits and we've in big trouble, tax tax tax.

You can write the script with them - like some of us did already.

dopester wrote: »

And wealth taxes are the worst, which could come in during an irrational response to the crisis. Wealth taxes are vindictive and work against recovery. It makes the rich and able poorer or sends them abroad. Wealth is an antidote to recession and not the cause. Confiscatory taxes reduce savings, discourage work, increase indebtedness and hinder any economic recovery.

dopester

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

The leeches that take £150K+ salaries should be taxed 60% if not more. 80% for the thieves taking over £500K.

It was much higher before the Tories slashed taxes for the rich and loaded it on indirect taxes to screw the poorer members of our society.

GG

What a narrow-minded man you really are if you really believe that is fair or a platform for success.

beingjdc

Dopester I am trying to figure out who this rich and able people who earn over £150k and will go abroad are...

If you got rich by setting up a business, you can just grow the business until you sell, and what affects you is more Capital Gains Tax than income tax. Also your business is here, so leaving would be tricky.

If you are a specialist in law, accounting, or at the top of the tree in the public sector, your skills and knowledge are quite UK-specific, so leaving will be a bit of a wrench, if not impossible.

If you are a sportsperson, you will be far more tempted one way or another by wage differentials than tax rates, I honestly don't care if some footballers clear off to play for Real or Barcelona and make way for talented youngsters.

If you are a banker or city trader, you, er, well frankly I'd be happy for the taxpayer to buy your one-way plane ticket to Antarctica.

I'm left with actors and writers, at the moment. Who tend to support higher taxes, whether because they're liberal professions, or because being a tax exile isn't seen as very good PR move.

dopester

Fair points beingjdc.

I only know I watched an interview with the CEO of HSBC two months ago. He made it clear they had a duty to consider the domicile of the bank every so often, especially if there were to be negative tax changes.

Haven't we already had a few companies clear off due to increasingly burdensome regulation and tax environment. Yes this is income taxes this time around... but it all adds to the UK being more of an unfavourable place for businesses, who employ people and pay good taxes to UK Gov, to set up and trade from.

WPP to quit Britain over changes to tax regime

Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP will this week announce that it is leaving the UK because of changes to the tax regime.

By Dominic White
Last Updated: 11:36PM BST 28 Sep 2008

The news will come as a fresh blow to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, particularly as Sir Martin has acted as an ambassador for British business.

WPP, the world’s second largest marketing services group, is widely expected to follow the lead of other UK companies and move its tax domicile to Ireland.

Earlier this year, both drugmaker Shire and media group United Business Media decided to shift their tax domiciles from Britain to Ireland because of planned tax changes on foreign earnings.

WPP paid £204m in tax last year, but is thought to believe that the changes would add tens of millions to its British tax bill.

Sir Martin has previously said that redomiciling WPP could save the company £60m to £80m a year.

He has been extremely vocal about the issue and has been lobbying the Government to change its plans. However, the company believes that his efforts have not had the desired effect.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/3097712/WPP-to-quit-Britain-over-changes-to-tax-regime.html

Monday, October 27, 2008

One-quarter of the UK's business owners are thinking about relocating overseas in the next three years as a result of the UK's unfavourable tax and regulatory environment, according to a recently-published survey.

The poll by the accounting and advisory firm Tenon Group found that 26% of respondents are mulling plans to leave the UK, whilst 1 in 20 have already made plans to set up shop overseas. This rises to 30% among those business owners who have had prior experience of steering a company through a recession. Corporation tax is the area of legislation most highly disliked by entrepreneurs, with 37% of those considering leaving the country citing this tax as the main factor. Capital gains tax and the abolition of taper relief was a key motivation for 16%. Entrepreneurs also continue to feel over-burdened by increasing employee rights, with 24% thinking about leaving the country for this reason.

neverdespairgirl

Doesn't look as if it'll make a real difference:

It is unclear how much a new tax rate could raise, but a Treasury answer to a Parliamentary question in 2006 suggested a 45% rate on people earning more than £150,000 would have raised £1.2bn.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7745070.stm