Income Tax and Politics

[KAB]

Income Tax receipts for 15-16 forecast £170.5b
Budget deficit 15-16 forecast £75b

Taking into account tax-free allowances my guess you would need to add 10p to income tax to clear deficit.

Some other facts on public spending:
Last Labour budget 2010 - forecast total expenditure 09-10 £674.1b
Last Coalition budget 2015 - forecast total expenditure 15-16 £742.6b


Despite all the hot air on one side anout the 'cuts' and the other about 'deficit reduction', public spending has only gone one way in the last 5 years and that is upwards.

Ironically, I suspect what George Osborne has actually done is more or less what Alistair Darling proposed to do.

There is so much outside of the control of the UK government that makes all the promises currently being made a wish-list at best and worst - continuing to pull the same confidence trick on a British public who are quite happy being deluded.
The truth is too scary and too painful to contemplate.

This is so on the button. Osbourne hasn't been able to cut what he wishes because of that reality but one of the reasons why public expenditure has gone up, although in real terms it is still on a downward spiral, is that the private sector is now being paid to take over many services, sometimes this works and other times it does not and ends up costing more, many councils are bringing services back because of this. The government miscalculated badly when they assumed that the private sector would come like a knight in shining armour and provide a cheap alternative but to provide a service at a profit often means a deterioration in delivery and/or low wages which inhibits peoples spending power and therefore, less revenue, it is an ideological stance that has backfired. That is why I would gladly pay more tax, I'm sick of the continuing dogma that puts costs above value.

 

[Sowfend Not Sarfend]

During the election fever to date, not one of the major parties has made any mention about raising the basic rate of income tax for the next parliament. Paying tax is never popular no matter how much you earn, or don't earn. Even less so when an election beckons......................but in one of my reflective moments I did ask myself........

'If the current national deficit could be eradicated during the next five year parliament by raising income tax by, say, 3p in the pound coupled with a promise of no further cuts in public services'

Would I find that attractive??? I might just say 'yeah' I think.

What about you?

Income Tax receipts for 15-16 forecast £170.5b
Budget deficit 15-16 forecast £75b

Taking into account tax-free allowances my guess you would need to add 10p to income tax to clear deficit.

Some other facts on public spending:
Last Labour budget 2010 - forecast total expenditure 09-10 £674.1b
Last Coalition budget 2015 - forecast total expenditure 15-16 £742.6b


Despite all the hot air on one side anout the 'cuts' and the other about 'deficit reduction', public spending has only gone one way in the last 5 years and that is upwards.

Ironically, I suspect what George Osborne has actually done is more or less what Alistair Darling proposed to do.

There is so much outside of the control of the UK government that makes all the promises currently being made a wish-list at best and worst - continuing to pull the same confidence trick on a British public who are quite happy being deluded.
The truth is too scary and too painful to contemplate.

That's what I absolutely love about ShrimperZone. You ask a straightforward, simple question and wait for directly related simple answers, and wait, and wait and wait. I'll know not to bother next time.

My earlier post on this thread that I've now quoted above was intended to be a response to your opening question on this thread. But to clarify - yes if paying an extra 3% on income tax cleared the deficit once and for all I would be seriously open to it but the figures I quote demonstrate that you are probably looking at an extra 10% to clear the deficit . Then to cover increasing demand on NHS and unfunded pressures eg police, defence, you would probably be looking at paying an extra 11% the year after, an extra 12% the year after that - as I said the truth is too scary and painful to contemplate.

My second post that you felt was not a direct answer to your question, was in fact a response to your further post about 'cuts' in NHS and Education and the figures I quoted demonstrated that spending on those areas have gone and not been cut. I wouldnt dispute that other areas have been cut but overall public spending has gone up under the current govt as my first post demonstrates.

All the figures I quote are freely available on the internet from the Budget reports published by the Treasury

 

[Hotman]

No I want them to pay their fair due.

Typical right wing Tory, resorting to baseless insults and name calling - much like the desperate Tory party themselves.

OK let me spell it out for you.

You probably get £20k a year for playing with trains (bless) and get taxed roughly £2k. Thank you so much for that.

Someone earning proper money gets whacked at 45% of every penny over £150k. Even at £150k, their total bill is just over £50k. Equivalent to the contribution of 25 of you.

Do you really expect any more than that?

 

[Hotman]

OK let me spell it out for you.

You probably get £20k a year for playing with trains (bless) and get taxed roughly £2k. Thank you so much for that.

Someone earning proper money gets whacked at 45% of every penny over £150k. Even at £150k, their total bill is just over £50k. Equivalent to the contribution of 25 of you.

Do you really expect any more than that? If you can't see that this is fair share, then quite frankly you have been blinkered by your ridiculous beliefs - some sort of rebellion against Daddy I presume, who seemed to have common sense.

(PS I've not counted the lack of child benefit. Or the lack of tax credits. Or the increased NI on both employer and employee.)

*edit* Added PS and another dig at MK... xx

 

[Another Surrey Shrimper]

This thread very quickly descended into someone asking the usual inane questions that would require a ten thousand word essay to answer, and they would then ask the same questions on another thread; and someone else saying everyone is a bloodsucking **** unless they are a millionaire. Think I'll skip this one despite the opening post's good intentions.

 

[RHB]

This thread very quickly descended into someone asking the usual inane questions that would require a ten thousand word essay to answer, and they would then ask the same questions on another thread; and someone else saying everyone is a bloodsucking **** unless they are a millionaire. Think I'll skip this one despite the opening post's good intentions.

Yeah, I'm with you on that one mate, I dunno what the original poster woz thinking.