The papers and media have been running weeks of stories of higher taxes, on savings, on pensions, on private equity, on leaving money on death, on buying and owning property, on making profits on a business or from owning shares, At any point the Chancellor could have ruled out some or all of this speculation. Instead she seemed to delight in the array of ideas being generated to tax anyone more who dared to work hard, save more, succeed in business or own assets,
She has given interviews in the past querying tax breaks for ISA s, complaining of private equity carried interest, displaying a hostility to wealth creation and ownership. The only constraint on her wish to tax higher incomes, better pensions, more wealth may be the thought that putting the tax rates up too high could lead to a loss of revenue and a further exodus from the country. This weak view of the Treasury does not extend to the valid view that lower tax rates on income, wealth and transactions can usually boost revenues.
It’s the politics of jealousy, the economics of misery. Offering people tax incentives through ISAs to save is a good idea. No need to discourage it. Making it attractive for private equity to invest here is good for jobs. Don’t send them abroad. Letting people build a decent pension pot allows them to look forward to retirement and avoid claims on the state. Why be jealous? Allowing relief from Inheritance tax for some U.K. assets encourages investment. Why risk it?
Tax rates are already too high in the U.K. Non Dom changes have driven rich people out. Tax changes to property is reducing the number of rented properties. Limits of tax relief for pensions led some like doctors to retire early. Tax rises will slow growth. Particularly clumsy ones will reduce tax receipts. As a supporter of the government’s faster growth aim I urge the Chancellor to think again before hitting the strivers, savers and investors.
October 20, 2024
The UK tax rates thanks to Cameron, Osborne May, Hammond, Boris, Sunak, Hunt… and the insanity of the covid lockdowns and net harm covid vaccines are already way above the rates for maximum tax take. Further increases will reduce the tax take not increase it. It will also throttle growth and reduce the tax base for future years. With the insanity of net zero rip off energy piled on top of this and rigged markets in housing, healthcare, transport, education, energy, banking… it is an economic doom loop.
This government and Reeves are mad. They say they want growth but almost every single thing she and they push is anti-growth and against the people.
Not of course that taxes should be fixed for maximum tax take or the Laffer point. They should be way below this at a level that means government can do only those rather few things that government can do best. Defence, law and order and not much more. 25% of GDP is plenty for this.
October 20, 2024
Why does the government hate strivers, savers and successful people? The evil politics of envy to buy votes I suppose. But not so much that they hate them as, like female mosquitos, leeches and lampreys, spiders… see them as targets to be robbed of their blood and earnings and to bleed then to death.
The problem with socialists is they soon run out of other people to bleed dry. They invariable waste all this stolen blood on damaging lunacies like net zero.
See “Government Against the National Interest by David Starkey” video.
October 20, 2024
Weell, lets look at the data. https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/government-spending-to-gdp
Now I’m for lower government involvement in the economy and lower taxes for all. Look at the USA lower down the chart.
What Starmer and Reeves see is the ‘target’ ratio of the average of EU countries; even Germany is way above the UK. What we’re getting is a national economic reset based on left of centre, neo-socialist ideals, bringing us into line with the EU. We can then more easily rejoin and integrate. The fact that EU countries are suffering more than us really doesn’t matter. Does anybody think Starmer, Reeves and the Blob know how to run a ‘profitable’ economy?
October 20, 2024
The reason government should spend under 25% of GDP is simple. People and businesses on balance spend and invest their own money so much more wisely and efficiently than governments do. See Milton Freeman on the four types of money. As it is in the UK they are nearly spending 50% of GDP yet cannot even provide the very basics of good defence or law and order. They cannot even stop the boats and we have blatant two tier justice, shop lifting, phone thefts and muggings totally out of control with almost zero police inaction. Two tier justice even written into law. Misogyny a hate crime but not misandry for example, all women short lists, a minister for women and equality but not for men, RAF pilots no more useless white men…
31 Months in jail for a childish and no more than a foolish tweet (and she allegedly got 1/3 of for pleading guilty) that was rapidly withdrawn but a suspended sentence for 100+ shoplifting offences. Very little action against clearly anti-Semitic protests yet huge police action anything against anyone who think low skilled immigration is rather too high.
If government spend only 25% of GDP and spent it well (and got out of the way of the productive) the GDP would of course be far higher circa 50-100% higher.
October 20, 2024
Liebour want everyone to rely on the state
It’s called communism
If they could get away with it they would allocate us a government funded stipend. The big but is no one would work to fund ot.
This is admirably demonstrated by the welfare system. Pay the people not to work and they won’t.
An unintended consequence is the rest of the world wants some of this largesse and are willing to risk their lives for it.
October 20, 2024
So Robert Jenrick is finally saying the right thinks now that he is past the MP voting state.
“He has promised to tear up the Climate Change Act if he becomes Tory leader and eventually prime minister.
He has said he will scrap major pieces of Blair and Brown era legislation including the Climate Change Act, Equality Act and Human Rights Act under a “Great Reform Act” if he makes it to No 10.
His plans include scrapping carbon budgets and unburdening businesses of equality laws which have been criticised for driving positive discrimination and political correctness in the workplace.”
A “great reform act” is indeed what is needed as Starkey suggests. Sort out Balir’s dire & botched devolution too. But I assume Jenrick voted for the Climate Change Act as nearly all MPs did (not JR) or was he not an MP at the time? And nodded through May’s moronic Net Zero insanity too.
Reply Good that he has changed his mind. I am voting for Robert because he is setting out sensible policies on net zero, migration and growth.
October 20, 2024
Blair rather.
October 20, 2024
The problem is that half the voters like these things, in some cases very passionately. They would riot. Remember Mrs T’s Poll Tax? It was actually a very reasonable idea but led to widespread rioting in protest by those accustomed to not paying for the local government services they use. The Tory Party is still ‘Broad Church’, meaning, in my view, it doesn’t stand passionately or strongly for anything. Whatever Robert Jenrick or Kemi Badenoch may believe is the right thing to do, either is likely to face fierce opposition from within the party so it cannot have the backing needed for strong government.
October 20, 2024
Governments, and more so the current one, hates strivers, savers, and successful people because they see them as the whores they cannot live without. Additionally they increase the gratification they take by abusing them, a manifestation and increase in the pleasure they take. They transfer their guilt to the whores for having the temerity to survive. The half intelligent in government come to realise that their excessive self gratification destroys the prostitution they depend on. I think that is sufficient metaphor to explain your question.
You may have done it in micro dots over the years, but now you have no loyalties to answer to, what is your manifesto vision for a future UK.
October 20, 2024
Not sure I like the prostitute analogy much. More of a parasitic, blood sucking and often actually killing or pushing overseas the victims or perhaps they just work less arrangement. Not a “sustainable” plan. I though they liked “sustainability”.
If one parent of two children at private school decided to work say £100k PA less PA and send them to state schools rather than pay the VAT then it is likely the state will lose about £50k in tax, have to pay out about 24k in state school costs and will get probably less well educated pupils plus no VAT so £74k down for the state. Yet Reeves seems to think this will raise money? Same for Hunts and Reeves Non Dom abolition lunacy They even lie that it is a “tax break” for private schools. Just as Osborne lied that interest relief for landlords was a “tax break”.
October 20, 2024
LL,
Is it because the analogy too accurately describes governments past and present that eight submissions with the usual condemnation of vaccines only nibble at.
October 20, 2024
Good morning.
Yes ! Thanks to who ? 😉
It is not just tax, but also a mirriad of other little things, such as ‘fiscal drag’. You know, when a government freezes the point at which tax has to be paid. Then there are the various rates, such as fuel on cars. These too are frozen and do not keep in line with price rises. And one could go on.
All this is slowly draining money away from those who produce reducing the energy to drive the economy and push up the mythical GDP figure. So their answer is to import more people who consume more resources, usually State resources such as the NHS, which in turn costs money which the government has to borrow because it is not getting enough in taxes.
And so the circle / loop of economic decline goes on until the Markets say enough is enough. Then reality sets in.
It is all a question of when ?
October 20, 2024
Thanks to whom? Well Osborne, Hammond, Sunak, Hunt mainly and the insane lockdowns and net harm vaccines.
The tax increase are vast.
Stamp duty was 1% tops now 15% tops, IPT insurance tax 0% now 12%, no longer CGT indexation, Brown and other pension muggings, frozen and cut personal allowances, loss of child benefit and personal allowances at £50k and £100k, the 45% income tax rate, CT up 25%, NI both up, CGT up to 28% flight taxe was zero now can be 50% of the cost of the flight, council tax up, single person discount reduced, tax still charge on vacant period too, car taxes and car mugging up hugely, “congestion tax, ULEZ tax, parking taxes, enveloped dwelling taxes … endless tax grabs everywhere you look. Yet public services are dire and declining!
October 20, 2024
And let’s not forget some notable Tory Government wealth taxes: the car tax premium on ICE cars costing more than £40k (effective from April 2017) and the second home premium (a doubling of Council tax in England from April 2025).
October 20, 2024
Apparently Labour needs our money because it wants to “stabilise the economy” in order to “change Britain”.
And of course it has been handed a huge, weird majority so to do by all those who were so desperate for “change”!
I’d say that it wants us poor so it can exert maximum control over us.
October 20, 2024
They just want our money so they can piss it down the drain doing positive harm with mad things like net zero, to help their union backers plus much other crony capitalism.
October 20, 2024
Hotels and allowances for illegal immigrants arriving at up 900 a day costs a bit too.
October 20, 2024
Exactly.
And when we are focussing only on where the next crust is coming from and how to stop the snow coming in the broken roof and we are cold and ill with no recourse to health services…we will be too weak to put up any opposition.
“Poverty, poverty knocks”
And it suits them.
For us that is…
October 20, 2024
Answering your question, Sir John. Why does government hate stivers, savers and successful people? I would offer the reason is, because such people are out of reach of government control. They are individuals that can and do have the means, which they have generated to make their own decisions and do their own thing, when they wish too.
That state of ‘individualism’ is completely anathema to government control. It conflicts with their and micro management principles. That state knows best attitude, was developed in the last fifty years which coincides perfectly with the advancement (sic) of the EU and our time spent within it.
Sadly, we are still in its influence unable to make our own laws and rules in line with our National best interest. We are still beholden to the EU priorities and locked into its international reach.
The sooner we fully leave the EU, as was decided by the people back in 2016, the better off we will all be.
October 20, 2024
Sir John asks, ‘Why does the government hate strivers, savers and successful people?’
Because the Starmer’s Labour is socialist liberal authoritarian and wants equality of outcomes, what they on the Woke Left call equity. They have a choice of three options:
1. The standard Do Nothing option
2. Improve educational and skills standards of the less intelligent and less advantaged
3. Squash those who would excel too much lest their success offends the low achievers.
Their hatred of people who do not believe in Socialism is so great, Option 1 is not acceptable. Option 2 has already failed through poor state education, mass immigration instead of investing in skills development of native Brits. Option 3 is the easiest to implement and its destructiveness sates their hatred. It makes them feel good.
October 20, 2024
It’s all part of the Great Reset to take wealth from the middle classes and give it to the less well off. Of course they and their cronies won’t suffer. My hard earned money isn’t mine to do with as I please. I could bet it all on a horse but I’m not allowed to gift it to my children. Total nonsense. Just read all the latest Pacts coming out of the United Nations and you will see their intentions to destroy generational wealth.
October 20, 2024
I think the answer to the question you pose is, in part, a mixture of the politics of envy (of the better off), of ignorance (of what drives business activity and growth) and of addiction (to the mistaken belief that high government spending is a cost free option).
October 20, 2024
The Chancellor needs to be focusing on cutting central and local government waste and inefficiency and reducing everyones taxes – not sustaining all that and raising taxes to pay for even more of it.
If we go on with perenial waste and inefficiency Britain will inevitably go bankrupt just like it did in the 1970’s – queuing up with Third World countries for a loan from the IMF. That was a disgrace then and we are on course for it happening again, eg the next attack on Britain by our enemies in the form of another pandemic or a huge cyber attack could very well bankrupt us right there and then. If its not that, it will be the longer-term retardation of the economy by Socialism.
The State is far too big and the tax burden and sovereign debt levels are dangerously high. If the Chancellor cant see the urgent need to address this then she is unworthy of her job.