Tax.... what is everyone’s problem with it?

[rainbowGuy]

You said "what really gets me is that the more you earn the more % you pay in tax- you dont necessarily get any extra benefits"

If you earn more you take home more, you always benefit. If you meant you dont get any extra benefit for your taxes, then yes.

of course that is what i meant - earning more is not a benefit - its what you have earned.. benefit would be company giving you a car, bonuses, free training etc... its a bit like me saying i am doing Overtime when all i do is my stated hours!

 

[Blackjack Davy]

Absolutely this. We know quite a few people who send their kids to private schools. Most of them make huge sacrifices to do so and struggle to get by. If they raise taxes on the fees then some will simply have to put their kids back into the state system. Similarly a lot of private school parents travel a long distance daily to get their kids to such schools. If they are converted back to state schools then they will again just put them into local state schools instead. Their idea is ridiculous.

You're missing the point. No-one is allowed to be aspirational, no-one is allowed to make something of themselves, no-one would own private property if Labour had their way everyone should have everything supplied to them by the State from cradle to the grave and no-one should expect to be better off than anyone else. Thats socialism, comrade.

 

[Hades]

You're missing the point. No-one is allowed to be aspirational, no-one is allowed to make something of themselves, no-one would own private property if Labour had their way everyone should have everything supplied to them by the State from cradle to the grave and no-one should expect to be better off than anyone else. Thats socialism, comrade.

Sounds grand. I'm in!

 

[Seearbe]

I'm sure everyone appreciates how wonderful things are now....

This is a weird one since I don't work in the public sector nor have I made much use of public services. So whilst I don't encounter the effects of austerity measures, I still feel really annoyed at some of the stuff I hear.

But at the same time, a lot of this could just be noise in the media - I mean nobody is interested in hearing that everything is ok. I know many people at low pay grades in the NHS (nurses, paramedics etc) and they're not having to rely on food banks or anything like that. In fact I know two nurses, two paramedics and a fireman who have all bought a house in the last 2 years (not clubbing together, I'm hasten to add).

 

[chroniclard]

This is a weird one since I don't work in the public sector nor have I made much use of public services. So whilst I don't encounter the effects of austerity measures, I still feel really annoyed at some of the stuff I hear.

But at the same time, a lot of this could just be noise in the media - I mean nobody is interested in hearing that everything is ok. I know many people at low pay grades in the NHS (nurses, paramedics etc) and they're not having to rely on food banks or anything like that. In fact I know two nurses, two paramedics and a fireman who have all bought a house in the last 2 years (not clubbing together, I'm hasten to add).

Those professions are not really low paid professions in the grand scheme of things.

 

[rubberduck]

You think the cost of living is the same in the north and south?

Of course they are, why would you think differently???

 

[VincentHanna]

My wife works in adult social care for the local authority. They've suffered quite badly and a lot of care providers have gone by the wayside so there is less capacity in the system.

She also gets paid less than 20k per year, but that's by the by.

 

[Seearbe]

My wife works in adult social care for the local authority. They've suffered quite badly and a lot of care providers have gone by the wayside so there is less capacity in the system.

She also gets paid less than 20k per year, but that's by the by.

What cuts have been made and how have they been delivered? Genuinely interested.

 

[eviled]

Increasing taxes at the £80k threshold is not the answer because that really is the "squeezed middle" point.

That has to be the most warped view of this thread so far.

Earning in the top 2.5% (100k+) is not the squeezed middle point.
People tend to adjust their lifestyle to you income through wants and consumerism.

Why I agree the loss of tax tree allowance ain’t done in a particularly fair way, when you look at overall effective tax rate it still seems fair.

Does anyone have an example of a blanket fixed taxed country that works?
The only one I have experience of is Malawi and I wouldn’t want to live there particularly.

When talking about tax fairness, people need to think about the difference between equity and equality

 

[Martynt74]

Of course they are, why would you think differently???

Presumably because certain costs can be drastically higher mainly rent/property and council tax. Although there are exemptions due to demand for certain areas.

Although i agree everything else is the same. I don't see any disparity in retail depending on if it's a Tesco in London or up in Newcastle.

 

[Seearbe]

That has to be the most warped view of this thread so far.

Why, thank you.

 

[VincentHanna]

What cuts have been made and how have they been delivered? Genuinely interested.

Well, briefly - It's Essex County Council. I don't have the exact figures but I believe the Government cut their funding from the peak of about £180 million around 2013/14 to £18 million this year - A huge drop.

As such, the council have made cuts of approx £400 million over the past 5 years. I know that my wife (whose job includes decides on things like care packages for elderly, respite care etc) has had to vastly cut down on what they can offer service users. Also they were given a pay freeze for a few years, and then below-inflation increases to salary of about 1%

And in other area's they've cut about £30 million from the drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and the homeless problem has sky rocketed since then. The Town is unrecognizable from 10 years ago. You might have seen 1 or 2 rough sleepers. Not 20+ like there are now.

 

[Trusty]

180m to 18m doesn't sound right, you might wanna check that.

 

[VincentHanna]

180m to 18m doesn't sound right, you might wanna check that.

Quick Google:

Back in 2014 it was cut by £49 million
https://www.chelmsfordweeklynews.co...uncil-faces-49million-government-funding-cut/

And we've had a lot more cuts since then.

 

[VincentHanna]

Another source, I got the years slightly wrong so it's probably even more than I said:

https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/14756404.huge-cuts-council-funding-way/

 

[Trusty]

i think you need to find some better sources for that sort of stuff, things change. Money from central government doesn't tell the full picture at all.

 

[Kenai]

That's only Government grants, overall income has been relatively unchanged £927m in 16/17 to £937m in 19/20

 

[Trusty]

That's only Government grants, overall income has been relatively unchanged £927m in 16/17 to £937m in 19/20

Have you got stats there? Whats net expenditure?

 

[Kenai]

Have you got stats there? Whats net expenditure?

What I quoted was net funding, so I've not really described it correctly (it's not their total income) but the figures came from ECC published budgets.

Essentially seems to be the total that is sourced from grants, business rates and council tax

Edit - https://cmis.essex.gov.uk/essexcmis...28/forward_plan_id/128/Id/691169/Default.aspx

Looking at Appx A

 

[Trusty]

Ah ok, well going by the budget plan in your link.

Revenue Budget 6.
1.If it accepts the recommendations in the budget report, the Council plans to spend £2.5bn in 2019/20 (including schools). After income, this equates to a net expenditure budget of £937.5m, an increase of £22m, (2.4%) on 2018/19. This compares to CPI of 2.3%

So ~200m reduction probably is correct.. @VincentHanna