Are the middle classes going to bail out the rest of the country?

lostinrates

carolt wrote: »

Middle-income families could be more than £3,000 a year worse off under the new coalition Government.




How depressing - as if Labour didn't do enough to make it hard for families like ours; now the Tories are going to make it even worse.

I think it always was going to be: regardless who was at the helm. And we'll never know who would do it better....perhaps it would be better if the party/parties not voted in could run a virtual country with their policies by way of comparison :rotfl:

marklv

carolt wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/7727656/Coalition-government-take-cover-for-the-3000-tax-bombshell.html

Coalition government: take cover for the £3,000 tax bombshell

Middle-income families could be more than £3,000 a year worse off under the new coalition Government.

How depressing - as if Labour didn't do enough to make it hard for families like ours; now the Tories are going to make it even worse.

What the Telegraph calls 'middle income' families usually means very upper-middle income families! I suppose that downgrading from the 4X4 to a more modest car and dropping the golf/spa club membership might help plug the gap. :rotfl:

In fairness it's only right that those who have benefitted the most during the years of plenty should be asked to pay a little more now. I like the way that the Telegraph assumes that people on £50k+ have many thousands in shares to sell off or second homes in Tuscany or the Provence - for goodness sake!! CGT does not affect me at all, what does is VAT because it means that my yearly season ticket to London will go up.

poppingjay

marklv wrote: »

It always seems like the middle class having to foot the bill - and rich always getting away with it.

Well for the middle classes to alleviate themselves from the yoke of the rich they'd have to collaborate with the less fortunate, but sadly their general disdain prevents them for doing so.

PasturesNew

ninky wrote: »

there's economic capital and there's cultural capital. class is a very british combination of the two. and people often use it to mean different things.

I've always been working class. Economically and culturally. However, I do speak very nicely (I have actually been employed for my good speaking voice and it's been commented on).

But I am definitely working class. I just speak nicely and live a good life, thinking how my actions impact upon those in my environs.

I've already 'paid for' this mess, through reduced interest rates, reduced income (and reduced opportunity to do something worthwhile with my time/get a proper job) and I'm not middle class.

Inhertitance tax isn't something I'll ever have to worry about, nor CGT. But VAT would get me, especially in fuel for the car to get to work - and VAT on the basic bills of life ... then, when I do get a house, if I buy anything to go in it there'll be VAT on that too (I have zero possessions at the moment, so would need everything, although I'm seriously thinking about having zero furniture in it at least for the first 2-3 years)

PasturesNew

Exocet wrote: »

Each time I fill up with petrol I look proudly at the price-o-meter as it heads towards sixty pounds, and only wish the screen were larger so passers by can see how much I am contributing.

Every time I fill my tank, the tax alone funds one lot of JSA for somebody somewhere.

They need to sort themselves out soon though as I plan to only fill it about six times this year!

Jonbvn

ninky wrote: »

there's no point in wealth creation unless it trickles down. and state intervention is what is needed to ensure this happens.

You socialists only know one song don't you? We are clearly all too stupid to be responsible for ourselves and must rely on big brother to look after us.

Sorry, but such interventionist BS is primarily the stuff of guardianista wet dreams.

Jonbvn

marklv wrote: »

.....is VAT because it means that my yearly season ticket to London will go up.

Public transport is zero rated for VAT? Do you expect this to change in the forthcoming budget?

michaels

Source? Last I heard the privately run free schools were very popular for their high standards?

Sir_Humphrey wrote: »

Money talks DRC, it is nothing to do with intellectual capability.

The "free school" idea is already falling apart in Sweden, where it has led to a lowering of standards. I see no reason why it should work any better in the UK.

apt

The Torygraph article is a load of balony. How many families with a joint income of £50,000 and 2 children have a second home? Typically, it ends with the startling revelation that a company that flogs Child Trust Funds is againest stopping the state subsidy for them.

carolt

Not a load of baloney at all - OK, not all earning 50K qualify for the CGT, but they'd still lose out significantly by paying more tax/NI, the loss of (small) child tax credits, and more significantly, the loss of child benefit has been mooted.

We get £185/month child benefit for our 3 kids. If we lost that, that's a significant sum in taxed income to make up every month.

50K in some parts of the country is a very good family income. If you live in/around London, it's about the minimum you could get by on, as a family. Unless you were lucky enough to have a v low mortgage as you bought years ao, or a cheap counil rent.