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Post by andrewbrown on Jul 29, 2024 22:00:27 GMT
Have you seen the M6 toll, its empty while the M6 is jam packed. Seen it loads of times, it's not always empty but it's way easier than that crawl through the outskirts of Birmingham I'm an occasional user. It's very expensive, the price increases this year were ridiculous. And if go and come back you have to pay again. And they've reduced the off peak hours. But in spite of all that, not enough people use it so it's still loss making. I certainly don't think it's a financial model to copy.
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Post by Zany on Jul 30, 2024 7:26:28 GMT
Seen it loads of times, it's not always empty but it's way easier than that crawl through the outskirts of Birmingham I'm an occasional user. It's very expensive, the price increases this year were ridiculous. And if go and come back you have to pay again. And they've reduced the off peak hours. But in spite of all that, not enough people use it so it's still loss making. I certainly don't think it's a financial model to copy. My opinion precisely. The M6 toll has never repaid its investors. The country would probably make more out of opening it up for free and reducing the pressure on the M6.
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Post by Zany on Jul 30, 2024 7:57:27 GMT
So Rachel Reeves says there is still a £15Bn hole to fill in the autumn budget. Everyone thinks this will have to be tax rises.
UK tax take in 2023 was £1.1Tn, £15Bn would mean an extra 1.3p in every 100p collected, where should that come from?
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Steve
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Post by Steve on Jul 30, 2024 8:01:43 GMT
So Rachel Reeves says there is still a £15Bn hole to fill in the autumn budget. Everyone thinks this will have to be tax rises. UK tax take in 2023 was £1.1Tn, £15Bn would mean an extra 1.3p in every 100p collected, where should that come from? Uncapping council tax
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Post by andrewbrown on Jul 30, 2024 9:42:24 GMT
So Rachel Reeves says there is still a £15Bn hole to fill in the autumn budget. Everyone thinks this will have to be tax rises. UK tax take in 2023 was £1.1Tn, £15Bn would mean an extra 1.3p in every 100p collected, where should that come from? Uncapping council tax I'm not sure that unhappiness council tax is the answer. Council tax is a regressive tax, so that disproportionately affects the lowest earners. Increasing the tax itself would therefore not just be regressive, but also be against Labour’s pledge not to raise taxes on working people.
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Post by andrewbrown on Jul 30, 2024 10:16:22 GMT
I'm not sure that unhappiness council tax is the answer. Council tax is a regressive tax, so that disproportionately affects the lowest earners. Increasing the tax itself would therefore not just be regressive, but also be against Labour’s pledge not to raise taxes on working people. I've no idea why autocorrect changed uncapping to unhappiness! 🤣
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2024 10:27:27 GMT
So Rachel Reeves says there is still a £15Bn hole to fill in the autumn budget. Everyone thinks this will have to be tax rises. UK tax take in 2023 was £1.1Tn, £15Bn would mean an extra 1.3p in every 100p collected, where should that come from? Uncapping council tax Council Tax is a highly regressive tax that hits the poor disproportionately, including the working poor. It is the very last tax that should be massively increased unless heavily reformed first or better still replaced with something more progressive
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2024 10:46:17 GMT
So Rachel Reeves says there is still a £15Bn hole to fill in the autumn budget. Everyone thinks this will have to be tax rises. UK tax take in 2023 was £1.1Tn, £15Bn would mean an extra 1.3p in every 100p collected, where should that come from? She has specifically stated that she will have to make tough choices re spending, welfare, and tax, whilst adding that she will not be introducing tax rises for working people; So expect the latter to be targeted at wealthier non-working pensioners, those living off investments of some kind, those with large amounts of property or land, inheritances, businesses making large profits, anything that can be claimed to be better than hitting productive wage earners if taxes have to go up. Re welfare. State pension aside, most welfare is means tested. PIP isnt so a few quite well off people might get it if they are poorly or disabled enough, but the savings to be made from means testing this are unlikely to be large unless they take poorer people's other benefits into account too, which would hit the poor. Indeed, since most welfare is means tested already, it would be difficult to make meaningful cuts here without hitting the poor, including the working poor. The only real ways to cut welfare substantially without hitting the poor would be firstly to get some of them into well paid jobs. But if it were that easy every other government going before would have done it. Secondly, another way would be to reduce rents and/or increase wages. But neither of those things can be done overnight, and even if they could a government committed to economic stability would not risk going too far too fast and would likely pursue a gradualist approach. So quick but substantial savings on welfare are difficult without hitting the poor. As for spending cuts, broken Britain is broken Britain because almost all public services have been cut to the bone already. I struggle to see how broken Britain can be made to start working again by even more spending cuts, unless Labour can identify the kind of waste the Tories were incapable of identifying. There is the danger of tough choices here making things worse, not better.
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Post by Zany on Jul 30, 2024 14:30:16 GMT
So Rachel Reeves says there is still a £15Bn hole to fill in the autumn budget. Everyone thinks this will have to be tax rises. UK tax take in 2023 was £1.1Tn, £15Bn would mean an extra 1.3p in every 100p collected, where should that come from? Uncapping council tax Yep I like that. Slightly worried some areas can better afford it than others.
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Post by Zany on Jul 30, 2024 14:35:01 GMT
I'm not sure that unhappiness council tax is the answer. Council tax is a regressive tax, so that disproportionately affects the lowest earners. Increasing the tax itself would therefore not just be regressive, but also be against Labour’s pledge not to raise taxes on working people. Is council tax regressive? Its based on the size of property and the poorest don't pay it do they? Or its allowed for in housing benefits. BTW, I think "unhappiness council tax" is very appropriate for many people )
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Post by Zany on Jul 30, 2024 14:42:41 GMT
So Rachel Reeves says there is still a £15Bn hole to fill in the autumn budget. Everyone thinks this will have to be tax rises. UK tax take in 2023 was £1.1Tn, £15Bn would mean an extra 1.3p in every 100p collected, where should that come from? She has specifically stated that she will have to make tough choices re spending, welfare, and tax, whilst adding that she will not be introducing tax rises for working people; So expect the latter to be targeted at wealthier non-working pensioners, those living off investments of some kind, those with large amounts of property or land, inheritances, businesses making large profits, anything that can be claimed to be better than hitting productive wage earners if taxes have to go up. Re welfare. State pension aside, most welfare is means tested. PIP isnt so a few quite well off people might get it if they are poorly or disabled enough, but the savings to be made from means testing this are unlikely to be large unless they take poorer people's other benefits into account too, which would hit the poor. Indeed, since most welfare is means tested already, it would be difficult to make meaningful cuts here without hitting the poor, including the working poor. The only real ways to cut welfare substantially without hitting the poor would be firstly to get some of them into well paid jobs. But if it were that easy every other government going before would have done it. Secondly, another way would be to reduce rents and/or increase wages. But neither of those things can be done overnight, and even if they could a government committed to economic stability would not risk going too far too fast and would likely pursue a gradualist approach. So quick but substantial savings on welfare are difficult without hitting the poor. As for spending cuts, broken Britain is broken Britain because almost all public services have been cut to the bone already. I struggle to see how broken Britain can be made to start working again by even more spending cuts, unless Labour can identify the kind of waste the Tories were incapable of identifying. There is the danger of tough choices here making things worse, not better. I'm hoping for some substantial tax increases with the money spent wisely getting people back to work, reducing housing costs and improving the economy. Which in turn will mean a nicer country to live in and eventually lower taxes again. But then I'm an optimistic fool.
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Post by Steve on Jul 30, 2024 16:28:30 GMT
I'm not sure that unhappiness council tax is the answer. Council tax is a regressive tax, so that disproportionately affects the lowest earners. Increasing the tax itself would therefore not just be regressive, but also be against Labour’s pledge not to raise taxes on working people. No, no no NO! It already disproportionately affects the lowest earners. Making those in £5million pound mansions pay the same % as us plebs is only right But we discussed this to death here: ukopenpolitical.freeforums.net/post/4813/thread
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Post by Steve on Jul 30, 2024 16:36:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2024 22:38:51 GMT
If you are going to hit anyone hard, whether it be pensioners or motorists it does make sense to do so early, But hitting motorists will hit working people, many of whom rely on their cars to get to and from work. I know I do. Unless some means can be found to compensate workers for the increased costs of their work-related driving, I would not at all be in favour of big rises in fuel duties.
But whether or not little old me and others like me are in favour or not will probably make little difference. If they are going to do it they will do it anyway. And it will please the same smug middle class lefties Wes Streeting earlier criticised to see large fuel duty hikes on all of us terrible users of combustion engines, as they drive on by in their expensive electric cars we cannot afford or have viable charging points for.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2024 23:15:16 GMT
I have heard the idea being floated that increasing Capital Gains Taxes to the same level as income taxes are being considered. I hope so, because CGT has long been used by the wealthy to pay much less than their dues on their incomes. I personally know of someone who used to pay herself minimum wage, whilst taking most of her income in the form of a massive dividend. She only paid the much lower CGT rate on this, the vast majority of her income. A loophole that must surely be being exploited by many others too and needs closing.
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