Concorde Successor

I didn't say *all* airlines were subsidized by airports. On the other,
*no* airline pays VAT on international tickets and *no* airline pays
fuel tax.

 

M J Carley wrote:

SNIP

As I just said elsewhere I do not believe that cost/taxation is an
acceptable way to ration goods and anyway there is no excuse for rationing
air travel only for forcing the use of clean fuels.

*All* personal taxation should be on the top line, right there in the
paypacket. That way the fuckers would be able to levy a *lot* less of it.

 

unsurprisingly enough, I'm of exactly the opposite point of view. Look
at the Swedish economy, FFS.

 

I'm halfway through that chapter. Aiming to finish the book by Friday,
iyswim

 

What about the Swedish economy? I know nothing about Sweden other than they
have a healthy Outlaw culture.

Why unsurprisingly anyway, you like paying tax? I doubt it from some recent
posts. You like paying tax which is spent in ways you never see or hear
about? doesn't seem logical.
I do not mind paying taxes, I just mind the lack of accountability and
transparency in its raising and its application, oh and the level of it!
IMHO the Govmint could do all the basic things it actually needs to for
about 2/3 of the current take.

WTF do we put money into the EEC other than to run the basic institutions,
for instance? they piss it up against the wall. *I* want to piss it up
against the wall.

 

it's reasonably entertaining, no?

 

They have ludicrous rates of personal income tax for people earning
more than a pitance. I've just read an (admittedly slightly out of
date and written by a known right-winger) book that has a chapter on
it, and the telling example is that surgeon's take time off to
decorate their homes because - after tax - surgeons don't take home
any more money than painters and decorators. This is everything that's
wrong with socialism in a nutshell.

of course I don't like paying tax. *However* I'd rather be taxed on
things I would "like" to buy (as opposed to "need" to buy) than on
what I "earn". The more you tax earnings, the less incentive there is
to work hard enough to further your career and earn more money.

How does taking it all as income tax make it any clearer than the
current mix of income, purchase and various "hidden" taxes?

 

I was thinking that no Govmint could get elected if they actually admitted
to a base rate of 40%+ which is what really gets collected. They might have
to pare it right down to a *real* rate of (say) 25%. Bye bye all their
little pet projects.

I am mostly liking this idea.

 

what incentive would there be for any government (incumbent or in
opposition) to running with the above policy?

Also:

"Taxes in Britain are lower than in most European Union countries.
About 37 per cent of our gross domestic product goes in tax, says the
Organisation for Economic C0-0peration and Development. The EU average
is more than 40 per cent and Sweden's is 54 per cent. "

Source: The Guardian 16/2/2003

you are mostly living in cloud-cuckoo land, more like.

 

You _really_ think it would make any difference? Dream on.

 

It's a bit Economics For Dummies, which I suppose is what it's supposed
to be so I can't blame PJO'R for that. The "this is a stock, this is a
bond" chapter sponsored by the Wall Street Early Learning Centre was
a chore but it's getting a bit better now I'm past Cuba.

I don't feel enlightened yet though.

 

Well the Tories could get elected if they ran with this and Capital
Punishment, no seriously.

I'm dreaming on

 

To what?

 

(Andy Hewitt) wrote

heh. I knew some real hard b%stards when I was a mechanic ;-)

Hint: never piss someone off when they're holding a big spanner

HTH

Paul.

 

Y'know if you're carring a Varichoke Mossberg Pump it's not a problem

 

what is a pet project by your definition? - the health service, defence,
the police, education, roads?

You really think so? Do you really think that the basic elements of
state expenditure that are required to ensure the safety and decent,
fair treatment of all citizens could be afforded on a 25% rate of direct
taxation? I think you need to return to dream land.

 

They can hold as big a spanner as they like - once you've welded their
external steel toecaps to the four-poster lift they can only scream in
a stationary style ;-)

 

Yes, that was indeed quite a popular past time in the trade when I was
an apprentice. You soon learned to get the covered toe tectors.

 

Well, the roads certainly aren't, judging by the potholed rutted
tracks round here. Though aren't local roads funded by local
taxation?

I have no idea how the pot is divided up - does anyone know? I can't
be bothered to trawl though open.gov.uk or whatever it is now. We
have so many different sources of funding it's difficult to keep track
....

<snip>

 

Because at least then it's written down how much you're paying at the
end of the year on your P60 (or is it 45 I can never remember).

As it stands I pay an amount of tax on my salary, which is clear. I
also pay an amount of tax on my investments- only clear if I add it up
when I do a tax return form. I pay too much in rates every month but at
least it's clear how it's levied.

I then pay, on top of this, God only knows what in VAT. Consequently I
don't have a clue how much tax I pay a year. I think this is wrong, the
amount I'm charged to run the country should be clearly visible, not
hidden.

And that's without starting on stamp duty, death duties etc. etc. etc.