whats goin on ere then?

elgato

I just dont know
i have little understanding of the intricacies of tax, so i'd be interested to hear the thoughts of some of the more experienced amongst us...

Gordon Brown announced a 2p cut in the basic income tax rate from April 2008

the chancellor also scrapped the 10p lower rate

"We are asking the poor to subsidise the rich," Sir Menzies Campbell told MPs.

Brown told parliament he would cut headline corporation tax to 28 percent from 30 percent from April 2008

what do they mean about the 10p lower rate?

and does basic income tax mean the lowest bracket?

why has Sir Menzies said that?
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
At the mo you only pay 10% tax on the first £2,000 of taxable income, as opposed to the (current) standard rate of 22%. It meant that people on, say, £15,000 a year would pay a lower portion of tax now then they will under the new budget. God knows why Gord's done it - perhaps it was the only way of having something eye-catching.

I think he's cocked up.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I don't know how the budget is going to affect this, but I read that households/families in the middle income bracket actually pay a greater percentage of tax in total (income tax, VAT, petrol/vehicle tax, etc. etc.) that those earning more. These were official figures, too, not something cooked up by the Daily Mail.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
How back to front can you get, Ming?

Why do you even bother to ask? Just LOOK at the fucker:

180px-Ming.gif
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
"At the mo you only pay 10% tax on the first £2,000 of taxable income, as opposed to the (current) standard rate of 22%."
So what does scrapping the 10% mean, that you pay nowt on the first £2k or you pay 22%? From what you (elgato) reproduced above it isn't clear but if it's the latter then isn't Ming right?
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
So what does scrapping the 10% mean, that you pay nowt on the first £2k or you pay 22%? From what you (elgato) reproduced above it isn't clear but if it's the latter then isn't Ming right?

It means you now pay the standard rate on that £2k, as well as the rest of your income (up to about £43k). The standard rate has been redecuded from 22 to 20%.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
"It means you now pay the standard rate on that £2k, as well as the rest of your income (up to about £43k). The standard rate has been redecuded from 22 to 20%."
Well that means that you will be worse off if you earn less than twelve-thousand per year right? Everyone who earns more than that will be better off - seems to me that that is a move of money from the very poor to the relatively rich.

"We are asking the poor to subsidise the rich," Sir Menzies Campbell told MPs.

"How back to front can you get, Ming?" Sir Vimothy told dissensians.
Isn't it you who has got it back to front Vimothy or have I done something stupid?
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I think Vim has assumed Ming meant "we" as in "the Lib Dems", when what he actually meant was "we" as in "the country/the Government/the tax system".

Possibly for comic effect?
 

elgato

I just dont know
lol it was probably my fault for such opaque quotation

just saw a very thorough channel 4 news analysis, very interesting. still confusing, mainly because they keep trying to force it into this singular question of "is this a tax cutting budget?" which to me seems very dumb

but yeh single ppl below £18k are not doing well from it, which seems a terrible thing, but low-earning families will do well because of various other cuts and benefits. an interesting political agenda, definately looking to move in on tory values to some degree

its an interesting one though, cos overall it seems quite ambiguous in traditional political terms. sign of the times i guess

still mincing about a bit on the environment though
 

vimothy

yurp
[Earlier comment: I was just joking]

Apparently the UK tax code runs to 8,300 pages - second largest in the world's top twenty countries. It's all far too complicated and involved.

I don't think that there has been any real change, to be honest. Tax breaks for some, increases for others. Bad news for me anyway (I earn under £17k).
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
There are apparently all manner of tax breaks and credits that make up the slack for low earners. But you may need to a) get hitched and b) spawn to take full advantage.
 

vimothy

yurp
There are apparently all manner of tax breaks and credits that make up the slack for low earners. But you may need to a) get hitched and b) spawn to take full advantage.

Unfortunately for me, neither are feasible.

Here's hoping some Libertarians get in at the next general election...
 

matt b

Indexing all opinion

IdleRich

IdleRich
Ha! My lack of car or plane transport, (just about) giving up smoking and low salary have combined to make me £40 to the good.
In your face losers.
 

vimothy

yurp
Random fact:

According to Samizdata, the state takes about 45-46% of GDP, a rise of 8-9% from when Labour came into power.
 
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