Omnishambles?

HHarry

MyOnlyPost wrote: »

Increase NI for the self employed to the same rates as those on PAYE, then give the self employed the same entitlements that those on PAYE get (maternity/paternity pay etc.) Then everyone is treat the same.

I was happy with the proposed increase - I appreciate that I'm going to get the full state pension now. However there are a number of benefits we're not entitled to, and I'm not sure that paying 1% less than PAYE really acknowledges that.

That said, I'm also happy it's been scrapped - I thought the statement that scrapping it fufilled the spirit and letter of their manifesto pledge was positive.
An omnishambles? Hardly. Surely, accepting you've made a mistake, apologising, and rectifying it is a good thing.

Pennywise

Spidernick wrote: »

This was so obviously going to happen that you have to wonder just how out of touch recent Chancellors are. Darling didn't make any balls up like this (from memory), but Brown had his 10% tax rate debacle, Osborne had the 'Pasty Tax' and now this!

The Treasury and HMRC are wholly incompetent when it comes to taxation etc. The Chancellor of the time is just the figure-head/mouthpiece and doesn't come up with the ideas/figures themselves.

The Treasury/HMRC have so-called experts who are working behind the scenes on various "what if" scenarios which they make available to the Chancellor of the day who then picks a selection according to his mood/politics and runs with them.

Regardless of party colour, far too often, it turns out that the options are flawed. Made worse by governmental press officers who are clueless and aren't properly briefed so simply aren't giving the media the facts/spin needed.

We've had 20 years of incompetence from Chancellors, HMRC and The Treasury and it really is time that the top politicians sorted it out as it's just become a laughing stock. If the top mandarins and civil servants running the Treasury and HMRC aren't up to the job, they need sacking. Just look at the hopeless Lyn Homer who was given the top HMRC job despite a history of foul ups in local government and the border agency - absolutely zero knowledge of finances/tax but gets the top job anyway due to nepotism rather than ability. It needs to stop. The company's finances are too important - time for a clear out and to bring in professions who are experienced/qualified to run HMRC and treasury and feed the politicians the right information for once.

Pennywise

davomcdave wrote: »

The difference in NI for self-employed people was to reflect the fact that the self-employed weren't building state pension. Now they do so should pay NI.

Except you're missing the facts that self employed get zero/less:-

Statuory sick pay
Unemployment benefits
Statutory Maternity/Paternity pay

Therefore they have to finance cover separately by private insurance or risk not having that cover at all. At least employees paying get that protection free of charge by paying a small amount more in NIC.

kabayiri

Pennywise wrote: »

The Treasury and HMRC are wholly incompetent when it comes to taxation etc. The Chancellor of the time is just the figure-head/mouthpiece and doesn't come up with the ideas/figures themselves.

The Treasury/HMRC have so-called experts who are working behind the scenes on various "what if" scenarios which they make available to the Chancellor of the day who then picks a selection according to his mood/politics and runs with them.

Regardless of party colour, far too often, it turns out that the options are flawed. Made worse by governmental press officers who are clueless and aren't properly briefed so simply aren't giving the media the facts/spin needed.

We've had 20 years of incompetence from Chancellors, HMRC and The Treasury and it really is time that the top politicians sorted it out as it's just become a laughing stock. If the top mandarins and civil servants running the Treasury and HMRC aren't up to the job, they need sacking. Just look at the hopeless Lyn Homer who was given the top HMRC job despite a history of foul ups in local government and the border agency - absolutely zero knowledge of finances/tax but gets the top job anyway due to nepotism rather than ability. It needs to stop. The company's finances are too important - time for a clear out and to bring in professions who are experienced/qualified to run HMRC and treasury and feed the politicians the right information for once.

Maybe they are searching for the holy grail, when such a thing does not exist.

There is no perfect taxation system which is viewed as better by all. People will judge as 'better' from their current standpoint.

Throw in the spanner that is people are all too ready to use the courts to challenge any perceived unfairness.

The rule books on taxation and employment practises just seem to grow.

Trying to computerise something which should be simple like a Back to Work system ends up as a convoluted mess, because of contrived exceptions designed to placate some group.

After a while you just become suspicious that it is one big job creation program for a bunch of mandarins and their entourage.

westernpromise

I blame boomers.

mrginge

Small majority governments can often be harder to manage than coalition.

It's a fairly major balls up that shouldn't happen and you'd expect the two of them to understand that.
Either
A. Get a bigger majority
B. Don't announce *anything* without making sure you've got the numbers in the HoC.

Filo25

The "easy" part of the deficit reduction programme has already happened, its going to get a lot tougher politically to find acceptable significant measures to drive further deficit reduction.

Thrugelmir

There'll be a plan B to recoup the lost tax revenue. Still the Autumn budget to follow.

padington

Thrugelmir wrote: »

There'll be a plan B to recoup the lost tax revenue. Still the Autumn budget to follow.

The Brexiteer nob heads have suddenly realised they need an army of specialised trade negotiators and that might cost a pretty penny, which they don't have a big enough budget for.

Also a war chest will be needed to bribe people like we utilised with bringing the Yanks into the Second World War. Brexit, if done well, should cost a fortune and this bunch of amateurs haven't even managed to make the man holding the purse stings understand this.

It's a complete and utter mess.

The fact they haven't risk assessed the worse case scenario beggars belief.

sammyjammy

michaels wrote: »

And it is easy to have made 35 years equivalent of NI through SERPS/S2P payments by the time you are 40 so you no longer accrue any additional pension beyond that point.

Err wrong, I think you misunderstand how the State Pension works.