Briskoda budget ideas

[gadgetman]

So its budget time again.

If you were Mr Osborne, what changes would you make. You could completely redesign the tax system if you prefer.

[Evil Miyagi]

Everybody earning over £55k per annum taxed at 50%

Road tax incorporated into petrol price with vat on fuel being reduced to 5%

fuel duty remains fixed at current rate

Car insurance will be standardised with £2000 base price. 10% discount applied for each year claim free (upto a maximum of 9 years)

Each claim will result in 1 year being removed for the party 'at fault'.

National duty will rise by 10% to allow our services new equipment and higher staffing levels where appropriate

[grr666]

Everybody earning over £55k per annum taxed at 50%

With respect, where's the incentive to study something worthwhile and excel at anything

if half of your reward for your effort is just given away every year to help pay for

beer and fags for the workshy.

In the long run this will just make high achievers take their skills overseas so that ultimately

other nations economies benefit.

My wife falls into that bracket and having seen her study her backside off, making all manner

of sacrifices over 10 years of non stop studying to get into the Institute of Actuaries, after first achieving

a first with honours in Economics and business finance.

She's genuinely considering taking her considerable skillset and experience to Bermuda

where it's in demand and taxed fairly bearing in mind the effort and dedication required to achieve it

in the first place. That's just what the UK needs, all it's brightest stars going elsewhere to be treated

fairly and not pseudo criminalised here for doing well. I just think it's all backwards in this country sometimes.

Most of the rest of your post I agree with however, especially the insurance bit

[Evil Miyagi]

With respect, where's the incentive to study something worthwhile and excel at anything

if half of your reward for your effort is just given away every year to help pay for

beer and fags for the workshy.

In the long run this will just make high achievers take their skills overseas so that ultimately

other nations economies benefit.

My wife falls into that bracket and having seen her study her backside off, making all manner

of sacrifies over 10 years of non stop studying to get into the Institute of Actuaries, after first achieving

a first with honours in Economics and business finance.

She's genuinely considering taking her considerable skillset and experience to Bermuda

where it's in demand and taxed fairly bearing in mind the effort and dedication required to achieve it

in the first place. That's just what the UK needs, all it's brightest stars going elsewhere to be treated

fairly and not pseudo criminalised here for doing well. I just think it's all backwards in this country sometimes.

Most of the rest of your post I agree with however, especially the insurance bit

That is a very good comeback and I actually get your point...

What would you suggest? There is a need to bring more cash in to the country but without pricing ourselves out of material and manufacturing markets

[Graeme B]

yeah not impressed with the whole over £55k paying 50% tax, would move out the country sooner than planned if that was the case 40% bad enough !!!!

[BilboBaggins]

Worth remembering that in addition to 40% tax anyone earning above about £40k pays about 9% in national insurance so already effectively giving 50% to HMG

Add in additional hit for public sector workers of extra 3% in pension payments from next month and as far as I can see I now need to work until September each year before I can call any of my salary my own

I have spent Many years gaining skills and qualifications and sometimes wonder why I bothered

[Babs]

We don't need to tax more, we need to spend less. Unfortunately, this means cutting loads of the nonsense public sector jobs that Labour created. We also need to stop spending massive amounts on the benefit system. We need to be harsher with these twunts that just don't want to work.

Reducing fuel duty will reduce inflation and get people spending again - this would be likely to make a net gain in tax income for the treasury.

[MoggyTech]

62,259,000 UK population. Give everyone one billion pounds, scrap NHS, benefit system, child support, everything. We all have to make do with one billion pounds.

[gadgetman]

The 50% tax is a farse and worthless.

I agree with the fuel ideas above.

Tax wise I'd add a sliding scale starting and increasing in 5% lumps upto a max 40% at £200K+. Upto £15k is tax free and link this to CPI so this will rise and fall.

Limit tax avoidance such as using pensions etc to reduce tax to 10% of salary for all avoidance schemes combined. So you could put 8% in a pension, and contribute to an ISA but any total above 8% is taxable as normal.

Reduce VAT rates, but VAT will be chargeable on all items. Essential items such as clothing, basic foods, rail & bus travel and heating at 5%. Standard full rate of 20% on luxury goods (say big TV's, high end tech) and any items costing more than £50k. Enhanced rate of 40% for items over £100k.

Reduce the items for which VAT can be reclaimed by companies. Company cars VAT cannot be reclaimed. Luxury items cannot be reclaimed full stop. Create a list of business essentials in a fashion similar to the John Lewis list. Maximum exemption limit in any tax year limked to employee number and turn over to help avoidance.

Tax breaks for firms employing & training young unemployed/fresh from school or those that were on job seekers for 9 months or more providing they are employed for a min of 12 months.

End reduced tax for empty or 2nd homes. Full tax payable. Any previously developed (brown) land now vacant taxable at the previous building/business rates to the land owner.

[gadgetman]

Oh and benefits would reduce by 2% each month for the likes of jobseekers etc until lower limit of 10% of the full awarded amount reached. Protect some for the vunerable and those unfit to work.

Free childcare for anyone working more than 16 hours a week earning less than the average yearly wage.

Hopefully it'd encourage people to work.

[Reavenger]

Increase the duty on cigarettes and alcohol. 1/5 idiots, I mean people, smoke in this country. If they're stupid enough to smoke then they'll be stupid enough to pay more for it.

For alcohol, have a scaling cost. So the first pint is £2 and then goes up by 50p for each one. Resets at 6am in the morning or something like that.

Revamp the Government Environmental Test for cars so it actually is reflective of modern cars and have the price of fuel based upon how economical the car is. e.g. If you drive a 1.2L diesel with 99^CO2, then diesel would cost £1.09. If you drive a 3L Diesel with 179^CO2 it would cost £1.29.

[Evil Miyagi]

For alcohol, have a scaling cost. So the first pint is £2 and then goes up by 50p for each one. Resets at 6am in the morning or something like that.

Revamp the Government Environmental Test for cars so it actually is reflective of modern cars and have the price of fuel based upon how economical the car is. e.g. If you drive a 1.2L diesel with 99^CO2, then diesel would cost £1.09. If you drive a 3L Diesel with 179^CO2 it would cost £1.29.

Good ideas but how would you enforce it? What if I went into a different pub for my first pint?

[Reavenger]

Good ideas but how would you enforce it? What if I went into a different pub for my first pint?

Branding!

Preferably to the forehead or upper arm.

(You can tell I don't drink)

[Evil Miyagi]

Branding!

Preferably to the forehead or upper arm.

(You can tell I don't drink)

Good shout! I don't either was just playing devils advocate

[Auric Goldfinger]

Everybody earning over £55k per annum taxed at 50%

Will this include those claiming this amount of Benefits.

[Evil Miyagi]

Will this include those claiming this amount of Benefits.

Benefits will be limited to an household income of minimum wage over a year...

Limit set at:

(£6.08 x 30 hours) x 52 weeks

This will then be subject to tax and NIPS

[Auric Goldfinger]

Benefits will be limited to an household income of minimum wage over a year...

Limit set at:

(£6.08 x 30 hours) x 52 weeks

This will then be subject to tax and NIPS

You get my vote

Don't forget to knock off some sick weeks,

[Babs]

isn't "full time" 37.5 hours?

[Aspman]

I'd love to see a study to work out what flat rate of tax would bring in the same income. The current uber complex tax system must cost a fortune to run.

VAT should be lowered on car servicing to encourage safety and efficiency.

All current tax bands and stamp duty should be revised up. They've gotten away with fiscal drag for far too many years.

Overseas aid must be removed from all countries who spend a certain amount of GDP on military or gilded projects. i.e. if you can afford to spend £50billion on tanks, nuclear weapons or a space program (i'm looking at you India, Pakistan and China) you don't need any cash from us.

A massive reduction in our EU contributions.

Incentives for new business startups, gov grants in return for stake in business. If it works out the stake can be sold our bought back returning money to the public purse, possibly with profit.

A big reduction in corporation taxes. If big companies are going to go to other places to avoid paying taxes we might as well have them avoid paying taxes here, at least we'll pick up some money from their local spending.

Politicians put on the same tax and pension system as other civil service employees.

Edit -

I'd tax booze more in the supermarket than in the pub so it'd be cheaper to drink in the pub. At the same time I'd make it a more serious offence to serve alcohol to a seriously drunk person.

Some benefits replaced by vouchers. You need food, clothing and a roof to survive. You don't need contract phones, Sky and fags. If you can afford contract phones, Sky and fags you're getting too much benefit money. Less cash to claimants.

Housing benefits paid directly to landlords like it was before.

Compulsary education as aprt of benefit requirements. You will learn to read and write so you can work.

No automatic housing for pregnant teenagers.

Edited 19 March, 2012 by Aspman

[Evil Miyagi]

isn't "full time" 37.5 hours?

Yes, but as they don't work I'm reducing it to part time hours

[Latte]

Good ideas but how would you enforce it? What if I went into a different pub for my first pint?

Yesh of courshe ish my firsht pint, I,m shober asha washname.

I am NOT shwayin yer frikkety washname.

Gisha cheap firsht pint ya bashterd I'm gagging.

Rab C

[cheezemonkhai]

£25k-£30k tax free every year and everything else above that taxed at 30% regardless of where that income comes from.

Scrap the means testing of benefits, trim them down and get rid of the daft credits system that means you're paying people to pay people back.

Just don't take it in the first place.

Potentially scrap council tax and reduce the number of local councils, which burn money just existing.

Scrap the 50% tax band and similar such punative taxes as they don't help people who want to set up here and discourage people who want to make a packet out of a new business. Reduce business rates to low levels, so we are better than most in europe.

Finally, VAT on fuel should be calculated pre fuel duty price.

Edited 19 March, 2012 by cheezemonkhai

[Reavenger]

I appreciate it's a radical suggestion but......

Can we burn fat, lazy and useless people to keep us warm this winter?.....

Just putting it out there

[miserablegit]

I appreciate it's a radical suggestion but......

Can we burn fat, lazy and useless people to keep us warm this winter?.....

Just putting it out there

Do they need to be all three or any of the three? Either way I dont care as I am all three.

You could add the over 60s, anyone who needs to see a doctor more than twice a year, all kids who dont get a job within 6 weeks of leaving school, anyone convicted of commiting three crimes. Just think of the savings.

[Latte]

Do they need to be all three or any of the three? Either way I dont care as I am all three.

You could add the over 60s, anyone who needs to see a doctor more than twice a year, all kids who dont get a job within 6 weeks of leaving school, anyone convicted of commiting three crimes. Just think of the savings.

Ok miserablegit you qualify, get yerself round our house we are having a barbecue.

Get all those other qualifiers around as well.

Awww, I've just been on the scales and it said " over 70kg = bye bye " , looks like I qualify as well!

Is anybody any good with BBQ tongs?