Kg v pound

[Andrew]

We HAD electric trolley buses in Cardiff up to the 1960's. They were great, but not too good at overtaking.

[Andrew]

No one forced you to live in the middle of nowhere in East Anglia

[Andrew]

But when that 'design' was made, men retired at 65 and most were gone by age 73, while women 'retired' at 60 and chattered on to 78.

Now there are 560,000 over age 85 and 15,000 over 100 and there are fewer taxpayers funding the ever increasing (numbers AND age) pensioners.

None of the 85+ group have ever paid the tax increases that TB levied from 2000 onwards to pay for the £squillions being hosed at the NHS because they were already retired. But their house prices have gone up fivefold and they are getting the benefit of the massive NHS spending but have never paid for it. They even moan about stamp duty and IHT being 'too high' (but ignore the hundreds of thousands of tax-free house price rises that they have benefitted from - thanks to Gordon Brown and Osbornes help-to-speculate).

[Andrew]

The NHS reported Haemoglobin as Grams/decilitre for many years, even though Red cell count, white cell count and platelets were reported as x10 to the N per litre.

[JNugent]

And?

And?

So are those in receipt of Retirement Pension exempt from Income Tax?

Are they also exempt from VAT? Council Tax? Tobacco, alcohol and fuel duties? Airport Passenger Duty? Capital Gains Tax? Inheritance Tax? Insurance Premium Tax? Stamp Duty? Environmental taxes (eg, the so-called Green Levy on domestic fuel bills)? Landfill Tax? Customs duty (on imported items)?

If so, I'm going to ask for my money back.

Those particular items, one strongly suspects, because of their concern for the cost of those things falling upon people other than themselves.

I have no plans to move house so don't expect to pay much more by way of Stamp Duty (I've paid enough of it in the past, though). I also doubt that anyone is planning to leave me anything of value in their will.

[Andrew]

The silly state pension is still paid weekly or 4-weekly.

If Universal credit is paid ?monthly (in arrears) why not force the same regime on pensioners ?

[Andrew]

And *ALL* the calculations made in 1948 re funding pensions meant that the 'stamp' these people paid was based on the assumption that they would only collect their pensions for a far fewer yers than has turned out. QED. They paid much too little tax and NI when they were working and they should only get the NHS treatment that was known when they were working, and not the eye-watering expensive treatments and drugs that were developed after they retired.

Free lunches don't exist. We have nearly £2 trillion in debt and most of is because of the NHS, and that results from people living far longer than expected.

If that is their only income then the tax free allowance covers it. For years pensioners got a higher (unjustified) tax free allowance than working people. Otherwise ALL income is taxable.

Most of those are OPTIONAL and only came about because Gordon Brown told people he would not increase tax rates (but then put up NI and created a myriad of stealth taxes) .

IHT is peanuts compared to the humungous tax-free gains in house prices since 1970. Maybe we should put interest rates up to 15% and keep them at that level for 12 years. The economy would be decimated and house prices would revert to 1998 levels, so the mythical unfair stamp duty, CGT and IHT issues would simply disappear. How much stamp duty have you ever paid on your earlier house purchases ?. Nothing I suspect. I never paid it in 1978 or 1991 when I bought my first and second house. The latter one is 'worth' 5 times what I paid. What have I done to increase its value so much ?, NOTHING.

Hardly anyone pays CGT (including BTL and 2nd homers, who for years regarded it as an 'optional' tax, but the new HMRC super computer has shut that loophole) and it is only 10% or 20% for non property assets anyway, and only 18 or 28% for property gains. You still keep up to

**90%** of the gain, and get an additional annual allowance of over £10K in addition to the normal tax free allowance.

What the treasury should do is make the remortgaging of a 2nd property an immediate chargeable event for CGT. This would stop people relying on house price increases to load a property up with (more) cheap debt and use the money extracted to hammer up house prices even more.

Even better would be to make once-off change to stamp duty and make the seller pay it, not the buyer. FTB's will never pay it again.

[JNugent]

That is what happens now (if you regard 4-weekly as monthly, at any rate).

You didn't think it was paid in advance?

[JNugent]

Stop.

Think.

Do the reasoning.

Were you under the impression that the price of the weekly employee's and employer's stamps stayed exactly the same between 1948 and 1974 (when NI became an income tax)?

Or do you accept that it did no such thing?

Since 1974 (nearly fifty years ago), NI has been an extra income tax - and the rate has steadily increased, as well as garnering more because of increases in pay.

Are you sure that your claim is justified?

All those people (or most of them) paid taxes and NI.

Are pensioners exempt from Income Tax?

You forgot to answer that.

None of them are optional. The concept of the optional tax is a chimera.

And?

You've got it bad, haven't you?

Were you once given a fright by a furniture removals van?

Are you still claiming that pensioners pay no taxes, BTW?

[Jeff Gaines]

If you think it's wrong lobby your MP but for now it's how it works.

[Fredxx]

So why should the likes of us be forced to subsidise those who live in conurbations?

[Andrew]

You don't. Most of the taxes are paid by people who live in or near, and commute into London. They subsidize everyone else

[Fredxx]

It is safe to say that any increase in NI has not been retrospective. The increase paid by those not retired, and income enjoyed by those who have.

One relying on pension alone, yes, exempt from being below their personal allowance. And even with a small private pension won't pay tax. Furthermore, those on very good private pensions won't be paying NI.

For the well heeled, Inheritance Tax is optional. Ask the like of the Duke of Westminster:

It does shout out for the gains to be taxed.

It doesn't make any difference who pays it. Value and affordability is generally determines price and that will include the various addon taxes.

Anyway, capital gains tax on property is more likely to cash in on the fortunes of oldies who have done well out of demand stripping supply through immigration.

They pay no NI, some don't pay any tax.

[Andrew]

And its the reason why male and female retirement ages have been equalised and both are slowly increasing. if Starmer gets into power in 2024 (and he will have do something bizarre to avoid that) expect council tax, CGT and IHT to increase.

[JNugent]

Has there ever been a retrospective increase in taxes paid by anyone?

Can't parse that. There's no verb.

A pensioner who only has Retirement Pension and no other income will invariably be entitled to Pension Credit (the modern version of Supplementary Benefit).

Pensioners, despite your almost-disingenuous wording, are certainly NOT exempt from paying Income Tax.

Being exempt would mean no liability to pay it, irrespective of income.

If you are liable to pay it, you have to pay it. No-one is exempt.

You are twisting words.

Does it?

How?

Are they exempt from taxes (other than NI)?

Yes / No [delete as appropriate]

[Tim Streater]

In what way have they - or indeed anyone - benefited from house price rises. I expect ours has in the 12 years we've owned it, but I suppose I must be overlooking the fat cheques that you imply I must be getting due to such rises.

[zaq]

Bullshit.

[JNugent]

Exactly.

The entirely nominal increase in value of my house is completely beside any actual point that could be made about it.

It has done me no good whatsoever. And I didn't expect it to.

[bert]

How do I opt not to pay insurance tax on my insurance, ore green levy on my energy bills?

I paid it in 1979 when I bought this house.

But it is a fixed asset and so of no immediate benefit, unless of course you put yourself into the hands of the equity release sharks. Then you will pay taxes such as vat when you spend the money.

The cheap debt is spent on cars furniture holidays etc all of which attract substantial tax payments.

Still has to be paid so would just put up the asking price.

[alan_m]

Every cross road will have traffic lights with a right turn sequence :)