Time to change Stamp Duty Levels?

N1AK

wotsthat wrote: »

The expectation of how far this money can go is amazing.

The fact that the foreign aid budget could fund all of that!!! just proves how reckless it is that we're giving it to countries with erm dirt tracks and some drinking water :rotfl:

cells

The_White_Horse wrote: »

you scrap the stamp duty on your main/only residence. You increase it on BTL and double the CGT on BTL. That will have a double whammy effect of stopping people buying too many BTL's and therenby helping lower house prices

Example:

Main residence £300k - stamp duty 0%

BTL flat - £250k - stamp duty 6%


Selling main residence - 0% CGT

Selling BTL for £300k - 50% CGT on gain. - So 50% of £50k = £25k.

The Govt would make more and it would be investors/speculators paying on their GAIN rather than families moving home to give their children a bedroom!!!

Lousy tax brought in by a lousy govt.

The general rule of good taxes are that...someone else should pay them.

problem is...you run out of someone else's and to othrrs you yourself are that someone else

cells

N1AK wrote: »

The fact that the foreign aid budget could fund all of that!!! just proves how reckless it is that we're giving it to countries with erm dirt tracks and some drinking water :rotfl:

Foreign aid isn't for foreign aid, it is for influence

wotsthat

N1AK wrote: »

Stop trying to salvage your own position for a second and consider that I haven't made any claims that there isn't waste in government spending or that I think the current level of government spending is correct.

My position is perfectly clear - I think government need to improve their efficiency of spending, spend less on 'non-essentials' and interfere less. You seem to agree but claimed this is just a step away from cutting tax to zero and registering the government as a charity - you wanted to debate whether it was a straw man or false analogy but let's agree it was a nonsense extrapolation of my position.

Your confused position is that cuts in spending would have to lead to cuts in vital services whilst crying 'straw man' when it's stated that this only needs to be the case if all current spending is vital.

grizzly1911

wotsthat wrote: »

We get the politicians we deserve.



I'm supportive of the foreign aid budget but wouldn't lose any sleep over it being cut or scrapped. My issue is that cutting it is seen as a cure all...

- we could pay for better flood defences
- it could repair the recent flood damage
- it could pay for stamp duty to be scrapped
- it could cover a couple of months of deficit each year
- it could pay for A&E improvements
- it could pay for subsidised electricity bills
- etc

The expectation of how far this money can go is amazing.

Foreign aid was just an example.

Amazing how much tax we need really, not easy just to top slice it.

Rolled up into the average home or two over 25 years the tax is fairly minimal in relation to the potential gain.

VAT on an average family hatchback would pay the tax on property up to the first threshold.

Graham_Devon

wotsthat wrote: »

you wanted to debate whether it was a straw man or false analogy but let's agree it was a nonsense extrapolation of my position.

Is it not because you were doing this initally to myself that you find yourself in this position?

Thrugelmir

N1AK wrote: »

You. Your position is that we cut government spending in the next budget (the original premise of this thread) and that it would happen by eliminating waste alone. There is no reason to think that if you cut government spending at this time that is how it would happen (even if sufficient waste exists) and considerable reason to think it isn't. There's also no reason what so ever to expect we're going to get a new government after the next election that will be any better at effectively routing out public spending inefficiency.

There's a huge amount of inefficiency in the public sector. However there's no quick solution. As much is ingrained culturally. BIS is currently working on some very long term projects that require a huge amount of initial investment (cash spend) in order to take matters forward.

Also administrative processing is going to be outsourced to Steria. As a contract was signed last November for the provision of Next Generation Shared Services. In essence BIS's partner organisations, Defra, DWP, IPO, Forestry Commission etc etc etc will use common facilities and systems. Rather than having their own on different technology platforms.

So while there's not a lot visible. Significant change is underway already. Many people at the top of BIS are now private sector background. So not the staid civil servants of Yes Minister. Hence my earlier reference to cultural change.

grizzly1911

Thrugelmir wrote: »

There's a huge amount of inefficiency in the public sector. However there's no quick solution. As much is ingrained culturally. BIS is currently working on some very long term projects that require a huge amount of initial investment (cash spend) in order to take matters forward.

Also administrative processing is going to be outsourced to Steria. As a contract was signed last November for the provision of Next Generation Shared Services. In essence BIS's partner organisations, Defra, DWP, IPO, Forestry Commission etc etc etc will use common facilities and systems. Rather than having their own on different technology platforms.

So while there's not a lot visible. Significant change is underway already. Many people at the top of BIS are now private sector background. So not the staid civil servants of Yes Minister. Hence my earlier reference to cultural change.

What is BIS?

What is the record of private sector consultancy in large scale public sector multi platform rationalisation? What confidence is there in the outcome being vastly different to that which exists now?

Thrugelmir

grizzly1911 wrote: »

What is BIS?

What is the record of private sector consultancy in large scale public sector multi platform rationalisation? What confidence is there in the outcome being vastly different to that which exists now?

Department of Business Innovation and Skills.

Beneath sit around 70 partner organisations such as

Department Work Pensions
All the UK's Research Councils
Land Registry
Insolvency Agency
Green Bank
Met Office
Technology Strategy Board
Forestry Commission
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

BIS sits beneath the Cabinet Office. Vince Cable is at the top of the tree.

Thrugelmir

What is the record of private sector consultancy in large scale public sector multi platform rationalisation? What confidence is there in the outcome being vastly different to that which exists now?

Long term strategic plan to provide better services at lower cost, i.e. comparable to private sector.

All BIS partner organisations will ultimately share or have access to financial processing, procurement , HR, Payroll, property management and possibly some legal services. That's the outline with more specialist areas to follow. Bold items are the key drivers. Where savings are clearly achievable.

BIS are driving a Universal Chart of Accounts. So that all partner organisations report financial data in the same way. Will make overseeing UK plc far easier. Currently takes months to consolidate the accounts!