Incomtax or V a t you choose

[Owen Hailey]

Hi all.

Duse the amount of incomtax and stamp we pay seam unfair to you, when a self enployed person can get of with a lower rate by claming on what they spend, and there stamp is also lower. I think we would all be better of if all tax was only taken on spendind, and by using difent tax on the item to suit the need of the item, if say fresh food no tax, prepacked food some tax, gas electricity low use low tax, high use more tax, small cars lower tax, large cars high tax, goods could be taxed as to how much they are needed. if it is not a good and healthy food product bung on the tax.

let us keep our wage Owen. 

[Alistair Taylor]

Hiya Owen

I think the rate of income tax we pay is atrociously low, and is reflected in the shoddy public services we have to put up with; poorly maintained roads, overpriced public transport, not to mention having to shore up the NHS by poaching doctors and nurses from developing countries who's healthcare needs far outweigh ours. Note also the wholesale privatisation of public services in order to save cash (so liberally splashed out by Conservative and Labour chancellors alike at election time) which results in the closures of local post offices, railway stations, schools etc etc because they are unprofitable.

Compare also the highest rate of UK income tax - 40% -  to levels in other EU countries:

EU Average - 42%

Sweden - 60%
Netherlands - 52%
Austria - 50%
Belgium - 50%
France - 50%
Italy - 45%
Germany - 47%

So I agree Owen, it's unfair, and we are really badly off, but only because we don't pay enough income tax to support the levels of public services we'd like to have.

I have been self employed in the past. The hoops you have to jump through to prove that your spending was business related, and the forms you have to fill in each year are formidable. The time spent filling them in (and therfore not working and earning) far outweighs any potential gain you might think self-employed people get, and if you try to fiddle the system, the tax office throws its biggest and heaviest book at you...with interest.

AlistairT

[Alistair Taylor]

PS

A tax on spending (i.e. VAT) is a regressive tax, i.e. the poor pay relatively more (as a proportion of their total income) than the rich.

Taxing by amount of use is a good idea - but how would you enforce this for petrol? The fact is that rich people tend to drive gas guzzlers, and pay more per mile than mondeo man because they get less miles per gallon.

It's the weekend soon - let's all go flying and forget about the tax man

AlistairT

[001]

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