Re: Vaccine uptake

I'd have thought even you would know we have a mixture in this country. What is missing today is the correct mix.

Really? Have you brought up your children to be unable to make their own way in this world?

Because they're not traditional Conservatives?

In message snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk>, "Dave Plowman (News)" snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk> writes

Not my fight Dave but I do resent death duties. Money and assets from taxed income. My choice not to piss it up the wall. My children have been at work for over 20 years.

The EU was about to put a stop to tax shelters but you know that!

Completely agree with you Tim. I had nothing to start me off with other than what I earned myself, careful budgeting over many years, including not jumping onto the 'I must have a holiday abroad' meant I was able to help my children when they needed it - those who 'holidayed' have not been able to assist their children in the same way, are unlikely to fall into inheritance tax and have been known to have commented 'its alright for them'.

They chose to spend their taxed income in a different way to me so why should what I created out of taxed income now be subjected to a further swingeing tax on death.

You pay tax in income from savings too - which have already been taxed.

If you abolish inheritance tax, where do you make up the shortfall from? Tax those working even more?

Indeed.

While I'm in principle against inherited wealth, I do think those are good points - although not as common as you appear to be saying.

In any case, the bulk of inherited wealth is entirely unearned in the sense it's to do with house price inflation. Quite why children should pick up on that lottery windfall defeats me. And it only deepens and widens inequality.

As for those that made their extreme wealth through business dealings etc., I'd be willing to wager that a considerable amount of it was made off the back of others.

How much of that house price inflation is actually unearned though? First you've paid huge sums in interest over the years, so it has cost a lot more that the original sale price; the value of money has changed over those years, as has average income and households often have two incomes rather than one these days as well; you have lost out on what you could have earned by investing that money elsewhere; paid to maintain and improve it; and, in many cases, both parents and children have done without in other areas, to afford the mortgage.

Adding all those up, people have possibly not made all that much money over the years and have perhaps missed the opportunity to be stay at home parents (usually mums) throughout their children's early and school years - which has its own value.

In message snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk>, "Dave Plowman (News)" snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk> writes

I would class that as unearned income and fair game. Elsewhere house price inflation benefit is noted. This is within government control; if they forced local authorities to release development land and stopped builders land banking.

I didn't buy a house to make a profit but I was forced to keep moving in order to not get left behind:-(

Go back to purchase tax and abolish VAT. Endless hours of wasted accountant time for very little return.

Reduce immigration then and it wouldn't be necessary to keep building lottsa new houses. Oh wait, no, that's racist.

The house I sell goes up, so does the house I buy.

RJH snipped-for-privacy@gmx.com wrote

Yes, but its silly to be suggesting that those who choose to save and not piss their after tax income on out of the country holidays should be treated equally to those who choose to save or even just buy a house etc.

Quite a bit of the time it was having a good idea and being able to implement it like with your business.

Quite, many Tories are certainly more charitable than labour politicians whose policies are based on ideology, envy and hatred.

Are you unable to accept that the two aren't exclusive. You can bring up your children to be independent and successful as well as pass your wealth onto them.

When you go, are you going to pass all your estate onto some charity?

Well, we could always apply National Insurance onto all income.

Never happen.

One needs a massive amount of savings to fall into the pay tax on income from them.

Also when you do it is taxed at your marginal income rate rather than at a flat rate.

IHT raised around 5.4billion UKP last financial year. Assuming 20million people pay tax that is £270 per person or around £5 per week.

Is it not much fairer to spread the burden overall rather than just a few?

Indeed.

You think charity the way forward? Rather a US view?

Make the poor pay a bigger share. And you claim not to be a Tory.

Abolish NI and fold it into income tax.

No you don't. You just need an income from all sources greater than the no-tax threshold.

In message snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net>, Tim Streater snipped-for-privacy@greenbee.net writes

Abolish VAT and re-introduce purchase tax. You have the ability to zero rate necessities and sting the floating gin palace crowd.

Said to be too difficult to collect when it was discontinued. Surely less of a problem now? Vat receipts around 100 billion to the exchequer but costs businesses a huge amount to administer (no figures to hand). Purchase tax is applied at point of sale without the cascade of added value charged and reclaimed with VAT.