Suggestions for Osborne's July budget

Generali

For a money saving website there are a lot of people that want taxes to go up. For other people admittedly but still.

[Deleted User]

Generali wrote: »

For a money saving website there are a lot of people that want taxes to go up. For other people admittedly but still.

Oh, sorry, I hadn't realised that I was only allowed to post ideas for CUTTING tax on a thread about "options" for the budget.

WR

Thrugelmir

caronoel wrote: »

Really like most of your ideas, especially this one.

I travel to the States and Asia on business regularly, and a small local hotel room tax is very often applied on a per night basis.

It does need to be applied at a local level though, as a national tax might unfairly impact tourism in marginal areas.

VAT ( sales tax or whatever you wish to call it) at 20% is at the higher end of the spectrum globally. Surprising number of countries do have a sales tax on consumption.

CLAPTON

caronoel wrote: »

Really like most of your ideas, especially this one.

I travel to the States and Asia on business regularly, and a small local hotel room tax is very often applied on a per night basis.

It does need to be applied at a local level though, as a national tax might unfairly impact tourism in marginal areas.

it is simply a tax on certain businesses with the potential to reduce tax for everyone else (even the council won't dream of extra spending from the tax)

caronoel

Thrugelmir wrote: »

VAT ( sales tax or whatever you wish to call it) at 20% is at the higher end of the spectrum globally. Surprising number of countries do have a sales tax on consumption.

The issue with cutting VAT is the experience when Alastair Darling tried it.

Far from passing it on to consumers, as hoped, most retailers seem to have just pocketed the extra margin.

I cant see a case for cutting VAT, in any case, until / if inflation picks up again.

lvader

Thrugelmir wrote: »

VAT ( sales tax or whatever you wish to call it) at 20% is at the higher end of the spectrum globally. Surprising number of countries do have a sales tax on consumption.

Maybe higher end globally, but for Europe more like low to average.

Thrugelmir

lvader wrote: »

Maybe higher end globally, but for Europe more like low to average.

Comparisons are difficult. In Germany rail travel includes VAT of 19%, in Belgium it's 6% , if I recall correctly the Netherlands is 6% as well. Whereas the UK is zero. So an extension of VAT could raise money without actually changing the headline rate.

Now would be a good time to reintroduce the Fuel Price Escalator in some form. Link it to CPI.

Mortgagefreeman

IsaacHunt wrote: »

I hear that getting rid of Tax relief for BTL mortgages is pretty high on the list.

Well I was half right.

Thrugelmir

IsaacHunt wrote: »

Well I was half right.

No one seems to have thought the implications of this through yet.

chucknorris

Thrugelmir wrote: »

No one seems to have thought the implications of this through yet.

We are contemplating abandoning our policy of renting below the market rent. We may start to increase our rents this summer, with a view of getting closer to the market value. This should easily offset any downside from mortgage tax relief (4 of our 9 properties are mortgage free anyway, and 4 of them are less than 25% LTV) and the change to the wear and tear allowance.