What taxes on other people would you support?

zagubov

There should be a tax on ignorance there's too much of it already and it's unaffordable. If you spend too much money on betting, they should increase your income tax rate. If you're that stupid, you'd never notice anyway. Spend the money on maths lessons.

If you travel abroad and can't cough up a few basic phrases in the local language, we should adjust the on-the-spot exchange rate to tax the money you exchange and use to to subsidise language classes.

On the other hand, if you buy a meal, or some groceries, if you can enter the calorific content of food you've bought, within a reasonable margin of error, you should get a discount.

JP08

chris_m wrote: »

How about a misspelling tax, too?

I just knew that was going to happen. I think it might be a natural law - you can't make a comment about spelling or grammer without making an error yourself.

ffacoffipawb

JP08 wrote: »

I just knew that was going to happen. I think it might be a natural law - you can't make a comment about spelling or grammer without making an error yourself.

Pot, kettle, black.

Proviso: Not sure if it was deliberate as no smiley was included.

Pennywise

BobQ wrote: »

Actually money from NI contributions is paid into a NI Fund kept separate from other Government revenue. The NI Fund is used to pay designated contributory benefits and the rates set balance the payments made by the fund which is audited annually.

Seems like hypothication to me.

No, that's not right at all. The payments don't "balance" against the receipts at all. Latest accounts show more paid out than received, and that's including a government grant in to the so-called NI fund.

What is illuminating, is that besides inadequate income to pay the benefits, nearly all the NIC received is spent on the state pension, the other state benefits being tiny in comparison.

Another point is that the NICs are split, some being hived off for the NHS, so, again, no, not all NIC receipts are put into a fund to pay benefits, some are diverted to pay for the NHS.

The NIC fund accounts themselves are quite a fudge when you read the accounting policies and supporting notes. Made to look like a fund balancing the NIC receipts against benefits paid, but in reality, nothing of the sort!

chris_m

JP08 wrote: »

How about a misspelling tax, too?

I just knew that was going to happen. I think it might be a natural law - you can't make a comment about spelling or grammer without making an error yourself.

I would have ignored it, but I couldn't tell what word you meant - both abhorrent and aberrant would have been suitable for the context

wotsthat

I've not got a beard or one of those top knot things - got to be ripe for taxation.

JP08

ffacoffipawb wrote: »

Pot, kettle, black.

Proviso: Not sure if it was deliberate as no smiley was included.

Sadly accidental, as I got it right the first time. As I postulated, it's a natural law - like gravity !

Kim_13

Some kind of limit on bus passes (say x free trips per period after which they will have to pay.) They aren't sustainable and I begrudge funding something that my generation will never receive.

Wouldn't be surprised if we are in fact funding them twice over (the government fail to pay market rate for free childcare so I doubt councils pay market rate for free bus trips, pushing the cost up for those that have to pay.)

Councils have tried to reduce the bill by banning use before 9:30am, however those with passes end up paying say £1.50 to go a mile down the road and then going back up for a free ticket for the rest. This surely wasn't what was intended and should be banned, and the entire trip subject to whatever rate applied when boarding the bus (be it free or chargeable.)

bugslet

wotsthat wrote: »

It's absolutely a moral imperative that, for our children's sake, taxes are dramatically increased on diesel fuel and reduced for petrol.

.

Unfortunately I would have to charge more to drag all that food, clothing, building materials, cars, beer, plastic Chinese tat round the country. I suspect my customers would raise prices in shops.

What I find most concerning is the potential increase in beer:(

zagubov

We should tax cars by width. I have to drive narrow country lanes filled with chelsea tractors that take up 3/4 of the nominal two lanes these roads are supposed to have.

Plus, it's not like drivers look in their wing mirrors any more anyway judging by the ignorant van driver who swerved in front of me tonight. Why not shave off the indicators- it's not as if anybody uses them either. Plus everyone can stick their cars in their tiny garages so the rest of us can drive on the roads without having to slalom everywhere.