Tax

Borotommo

Well-known member
Just had a long conversation about tax with my 20 yo daughter.
astonishing how much tax we pay in our lifetimes, and how little this country “delivers” in return
 
Just had a long conversation about tax with my 20 yo daughter.
astonishing how much tax we pay in our lifetimes, and how little this country “delivers” in return

How much tax has she paid so far in her life?

I reckon she has more than had her monies worth so far.
 
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.
 
Can we have a breakdown of how much we pay against how little we get?

it always intrigues me how people think things are paid for that they take for granted just being there...
 
Family Allowance
Child Tax Credits
Schooling from Sure Start to 18
Innoculations at school to reduce risk of polio, measles, mumps,rubbela.
Childcare and free midwifery in Maternity Services.
Primary and Secondary care services open to all children to ensure they get regular health checks and care to identify physical / mental / neurological and emotional issues.
Free schooling.
School transport.
Teachers
Special Needs Education
School Crossing Patrols
Child Safeguarding Services
Designated Childrens Play areas in local parks.
Supported Youth Services in the Community.
Free use of Local Libraries.
Free use of Community Centres and Services.
Reduced prices for Local Authority Leisure Services and Facilities.

.............................Parents whose children have grown up into adulthood should remind themselves and their kids, that without all of that and much more, we would have a much lower life expectancy, kids affected by rickets, polio, malnutrition, pneumonia and a whole raft of diseases and conditions that blighted many generations before 1948.
Kids have safe areas in local parks and pavements to walk on, with street lighting and pelican crossings.
They have public transport and safe spaces.......

This didnt fall out of the sky.





 
Agree with all that and more- and yet we have one of the lowest social security provision (I refuse to call it welfare) in the developed world.
 
Agree with all that and more- and yet we have one of the lowest social security provision (I refuse to call it welfare) in the developed world.
And we are continually told we have created dependency and we would all be better off with less.:mad:
 
Try living in the US, you pay federal tax and in most states you then pay state tax on top of this.

In California I paid more than I do in the UK, but without NHS or refuse collection services (Just off the top of my head) and the roads within the Bay area are absolutely terrible.
 
There area lot of taxes that we pay in the UK (not sure this is accurate below)
  • Income Tax
  • Capital Gains Tax
  • National Insurance
  • VAT
  • Corporation Tax
  • Bank payroll Tax
  • Petroleum Revenue Tax
  • Fuel Duties
  • Inheritance Tax
  • Stamp Duty
  • Tobacco Duties
  • Spirits Duties
  • Beer Duties
  • Wines Duties
  • Cider Duties
  • Betting & Gaming Duties
  • Air Passenger Duty
  • Insurance Premium Tax
  • Landfill Tax
  • Climate Change Levy
  • Aggregates Tax
How many of the above have you paid directly or indirectly in the last 10 years?
 
There area lot of taxes that we pay in the UK (not sure this is accurate below)
  • Income Tax
  • Capital Gains Tax
  • National Insurance
  • VAT
  • Corporation Tax
  • Bank payroll Tax
  • Petroleum Revenue Tax
  • Fuel Duties
  • Inheritance Tax
  • Stamp Duty
  • Tobacco Duties
  • Spirits Duties
  • Beer Duties
  • Wines Duties
  • Cider Duties
  • Betting & Gaming Duties
  • Air Passenger Duty
  • Insurance Premium Tax
  • Landfill Tax
  • Climate Change Levy
  • Aggregates Tax
How many of the above have you paid directly or indirectly in the last 10 years?
Council tax
 
There area lot of taxes that we pay in the UK (not sure this is accurate below)
  • Income Tax
  • Capital Gains Tax
  • National Insurance
  • VAT
  • Corporation Tax
  • Bank payroll Tax
  • Petroleum Revenue Tax
  • Fuel Duties
  • Inheritance Tax
  • Stamp Duty
  • Tobacco Duties
  • Spirits Duties
  • Beer Duties
  • Wines Duties
  • Cider Duties
  • Betting & Gaming Duties
  • Air Passenger Duty
  • Insurance Premium Tax
  • Landfill Tax
  • Climate Change Levy
  • Aggregates Tax
How many of the above have you paid directly or indirectly in the last 10 years?
Probably 12, of which 25% relate to alcohol consumption. :rolleyes:
 
Try living in the US, you pay federal tax and in most states you then pay state tax on top of this.

In California I paid more than I do in the UK, but without NHS or refuse collection services (Just off the top of my head) and the roads within the Bay area are absolutely terrible.
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.
 
Try living in the US, you pay federal tax and in most states you then pay state tax on top of this.

In California I paid more than I do in the UK, but without NHS or refuse collection services (Just off the top of my head) and the roads within the Bay area are absolutely terrible.
I was surprised that a friend of ours in the US is paying $10k a year property tax.
 
There area lot of taxes that we pay in the UK (not sure this is accurate below)
  • Income Tax
  • Capital Gains Tax
  • National Insurance
  • VAT
  • Corporation Tax
  • Bank payroll Tax
  • Inheritance Tax
  • Stamp Duty
  • Tobacco Duties
  • Spirits Duties
  • Beer Duties
  • Wines Duties
  • Cider Duties
  • Betting & Gaming Duties
  • Air Passenger Duty
  • Insurance Premium Tax
  • Landfill Tax
  • Climate Change Levy
  • Aggregates Tax
How many of the above have you paid directly or indirectly in the last 10 years?
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
 
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If you want to live in a civilised country - you have to pay for it:

* Good health for your children and your family.

* Decent education provision from nursery onwards.

* Infrastructure such as roads, motorways, footpaths and a transport network including airports.

* Sanitation and clean water supply.

* Reliable electricity, gas and other power generation for homes and businesses.

* Good communications networks.

* A National Health Service

* Decent homes for our people.

* Protection for the vulnerable, sick and disabled in our country.

* Financial help when people become unemployed or unable to fend for themselves.

* Clean disposal of bi-products from domestic and businesses.

* Police, Fire, Ambulance and other emergency services when you need them.

* Security: Army. Navy. Air Force
 
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.
 
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