London's Burning

[DanaC]

Yes, yes and yes :p

Lot of very wealthy people use tax havens. They reckon if one major football player (Ithink it might have been Wayne Rooney) didn't use a tax haven and paid what he should by rights pay on his mega income, he could probably cover the costs of school football pitch provision for the whole country.

There's a big problem with wealthy people using tax havens. They make their money in the British economy, but then they get themselves residency in a tax haven and pay a pittance back. Seems a problem with a lot of celebs/stars in particular. Every so often there'll be some major figure done over on tax evasion, but you just know it's a drop in the ocean.

It pisses me off no end.

Lot of tax loopholes for business as well.

If you make your money here, then pay your fucking taxes here.

I also think the highest rate of income tax is too low. Not to say I want to go back to the old 'supertax' days. I don't care if you're earning billions, there is no justification for taxing 90% of any portion of it. But I think 60% on the highest portion for the highest earnings bracket is fair.

There're are all sorts of silly ways in which the poor are taxed more heavily than the wealthy. VAT settles more heavily onto lower incomes. Even the duty on tobacco and alcohol settles more heacily onto the poor, and not just because they're more likely to turn to them: the duty on fine cigars is less than that on cigarettes. The duty on cognac is less than the duty on beer. The poor are more likely to have their gas and electric on a pay per use meter, and that is a more expensive way to buy it. The poor get worse rates on loans and credit cards (obviously) so it costs them more to access finance at the lower levels.

There are a lot of things that are more expensive at the lower end of life. A higher tax bracket would offset that a little.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I also think the highest rate of income tax is too low. Not to say I want to go back to the old 'supertax' days. I don't care if you're earning billions, there is no justification for taxing 90% of any portion of it. But I think 60% on the highest portion for the highest earnings bracket is fair.

Yikes! 60% plus the VAT? That would never fly here. You will get tax evasion at rates like that. Different countries...