Tax

Borotommo said:
Yeah, of course, but it’s worth her knowing what’s ahead of her and where she can help herself going forward.
our public services are inefficient and crumbling. That means tax revenues are not enough and/or not well spent.
Click to expand...
The public services are more efficient than the private sector in my experience.
 
Soutra said:
X - Tax Avoidance and Evasion:
* The UK Government estimates that a minimum of 31,000,000,000 GBPs is lost in tax revenue each year by deliberate evasion and avoidance

Tax avoidance is legal, and the government encourages it by (for example) offering ISAs, abolishing tax on interest received etc.

Tax evasion is not legal, but the current thinking at HMRC is that by doing deals with individuals, they can get some tax whereas if they pursued these people for everything that MAY be owed, they'd get nothing.
Click to expand...
A creative accountant may be worth their weight in gold to big business, but it costs us - the ordinary citizen - from our pockets.
We have a moral duty, not just a legal one.
Offshore havens under British jurisdiction are encouraged by big business and their friends, Directors and "Investors" in Government and the City - who line their pockets at our expense.
 
Soutra said:
X - Tax Avoidance and Evasion:
* The UK Government estimates that a minimum of 31,000,000,000 GBPs is lost in tax revenue each year by deliberate evasion and avoidance

Tax avoidance is legal, and the government encourages it by (for example) offering ISAs, abolishing tax on interest received etc.

Tax evasion is not legal, but the current thinking at HMRC is that by doing deals with individuals, they can get some tax whereas if they pursued these people for everything that MAY be owed, they'd get nothing.
Click to expand...
TAX1.jpg
 
Soutra said:
You really shouldn't be paying more tax in CA than in the UK. You can deduct some state tax from your federal tax bill, or sales tax that you pay. There's a list of deductible stuff too, including health insurance premiums. When you get over a million dollar income there are extra taxes like the mental health levy, but I won't feel sorry for you. :)

Get an accountant on your case.
Click to expand...

I don't live in California anymore, but I already have / had an accountant (from Deloitte so not a back street Lionel Hutz) who I'm guessing knows how to do tax returns and deal with individual circumstances.

However the fact remains in CA we were paying more tax overall than I did in the UK.
 
Soutra said:
You really shouldn't be paying more tax in CA than in the UK. You can deduct some state tax from your federal tax bill, or sales tax that you pay. There's a list of deductible stuff too, including health insurance premiums. When you get over a million dollar income there are extra taxes like the mental health levy, but I won't feel sorry for you. :)

Get an accountant on your case.
Click to expand...
It changed under Trump. Unless you're ultra-rich you just get a standard deduction now.
 
bear66 said:
I was surprised that a friend of ours in the US is paying $10k a year property tax.
Click to expand...
I pay a firm to grieve mine every year and I'm still at $6k. The estate agent that valued my house recently was astonished they are so low.
 
r00fie1 said:
X - Cost of alcohol use and smoking to the Public:
  • Tobacco Duties [Smoking costs the NHS 12,600,000,000 GBP`s in treatment and prevention each year].
  • Spirits Duties [ 1 in 10 beds in the NHS are people who have alcohol-related diseases and costs over 3,500,000,000 GBPs per year in treatment]
  • Beer Duties
  • Wines Duties
  • Cider Dutie
X - My Local Authority Pay these taxes to the Treasury:
  • Landfill Tax [ Encourages recycling and alternative packaging] Revenue to the Treasury from this tax has decreased year on year since 2013 as recycling and reuse of resources has become the norm.
  • Businesses have reduced costs by greening the supply chain which has reduced use of scarce finite resources.
  • Climate Change Levy [Levers for a sustainable world] Pushed big carbon emmitters like the motor industry and power generation to design and produce products which use sustainable renewable energy.
X - Roads dont build or maintain themselves or light footpaths and motorways and the NHS forks out for the health costs and damage caused by drivers on our roads:
  • Petroleum Revenue Tax [This doesnt exist]
  • Fuel Duties [decrease according to fuel type]
  • There are 40,000 premature deaths in the UK each year from air pollution, costing the average urban resident approximately 880 GBPs per year.
  • 153,000 people were casualties on Britains roads in 2019 - this includes minor injury to death. The biggest single cause was the private motor vehicle.
  • Road Accidents cost the UK public 34,000,000,000 GBPs per year.
X - Tax Avoidance and Evasion:
* The UK Government estimates that a minimum of 31,000,000,000 GBPs is lost in tax revenue each year by deliberate evasion and avoidance
Click to expand...
Thanks r00fie1.
Wasn`t really sure where I was going with my post tbh.

Never had a problem paying and don`t have a problem paying for the services provided.

I would like to see Tax Avoidance and Evasion tackled more though.
 
At risk of being "THAT guy", this is where MMT* and the big tax lie come in.


TL;DR: Tax isn't used to pay for things after it's raised. It's used to remove money from the system after it's been created.


Quick recap:

King's used to be powerful but not necessarily rich.
King's (and others) needed money to raise armies 'cos the men marching around and fighting weren't able to work in the fields etc.
Taxes (e.g. bread tax, window tax etc.) were introduced to raise money more or less as a form of rent.
Soldiers (non-professional armies especially) were paid money directly from the taxation (other things were paid for too e.g. castles).
Fast-forward a few hundred years and the world is vastly different.
Finance is vastly different.

Tax is now mainly used as vehicle to remove money from the system and control stuff like inflation.

Government's like the UK don't use tax revenues to pay for infrastructure works e.g. roads, rail etc. - the government via BOE creates the money required and then sets tax rates etc. to bring that money back under it's control (for destruction).

To simplify things, a benevolent govt can liken govt finances to household finance - there ARE still choices to be made BUT the choice isn't can I afford an x and a y - if not do I get an x or do I get a y - the choice is do I want to fund an x and a y and how will they affect finances in the future. There is no hard and fast reason not to fund just about anything in terms of 'waste of tax-payers money' (the actual cost of things e.g. Track & Trace might be a waste but the idea is sound).

The problem comes when the household analogy is taken too far by governments that are trying to keep the reality hidden. Labour proposes a national broadband rollout is described as Communism despite the fact that as an investment it will ALWAYS increase the nations wealth. Tories spunking vast amounts on Track & Trace etc. is just Capitalism and we have to suck it up.

Housing is a massive scam (builders and resellers keep available housing scarce to keep house values high). Insurance is a massive scam (too many reasons).

Perversely, a lot of social' programmes still help to increase GDP etc. A drug addict recovery programme frees up police, social services, medical staff etc. and allows the ex-addixt to become productive; an old people's home for dementia care reduces the burden on family members and allows them to pursue other productive avenues. Nothing is black and white.



*Modern Monetary Theory
 
Car Tax was left off the tax list - I have to pay £150 a year plus 65% in tax on Petrol. Then taxes on the motor insurances. I make that about £850 in taxes and £200 from VAT tax on depreciation, so owning a car is around £1050 tax a year. If 20 million people did the same that would be £21bn a year in tax from motorists to maintain and build main roads and motorways and emergency services for those roads. I would guess its less than half of that.

Most people get the money they pay in taxes back. For example 2 children at school is £10k a year. A full state pension is £9k a year, which the average person will receive for 19 years. A care home is around £40k a year. I would guess the average person gets £3k a year of free NHS treatment.
 
Soutra said:
Tax evasion is not legal, but the current thinking at HMRC is that by doing deals with individuals, they can get some tax whereas if they pursued these people for everything that MAY be owed, they'd get nothing.
Click to expand...
Not sure I agree with that. If they jailed a few of these tax dodging celebs and business men others would soon want to do deals to go legit. At the moment there is no incentive for them to change their ways as they know they can just do s deal if they get caught. Jailing Dodgers would bring in more money in the long run.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top