Tax ''thiefing Scumbags''

[Grahamm]

No bonus! If you overtax the wealthy, they will leave the country, case in point: France (one of their most successful actors, Gérard Depardieu is technically now Russian!) The wealthy put the most in to the system, and typically draw the least (no benefits, often use private health care etc).

I'm not talking about ridiculous levels of taxation (eg back in the 1970s in the UK it was theoretically possible to be on a 95% tax rate!) but it seems fair to me that the biggest burden falls on those with the broadest shoulders.

And I disagree that the wealthy put the most in, they simply can afford to save more which the less well-off cannot.

On the stepped system, what about the unfortunate middle classes who end up just above that step? They are then clobbered with a disproportionate tax.

No, because all earnings up to that threshold pay tax at the lower percentage and only that which is earned above the threshold gets taxed at the higher rate.

[quote author=Grahamm link=topic=11938.msg131726#msg131726 date=1393974497]

Cease child benefit.

Why? Is this "If you can't afford kids, you shouldn't have them" attitude to stop the poor from breeding??

I prefer the earlier suggestion: cap it at a set number of children to prevent benefit fraud. [/quote]

So if you have more than the state approved number of children, you're a benefits fraudster???

[quote author=Grahamm link=topic=11938.msg131726#msg131726 date=1393974497]

Cease tax free schemes like ISAs

Again, why? If you want things simplified, how are these complicated? There's no need to account for the interest on your tax return and the providers don't have to collect tax and pay it to the government.

I think this ties in with the flat tax idea. You get taxed on all the money you have, but it's a flat rate. [/quote]

Which hits the less well off harder.

Flat rate VAT doesn't mean it needs to hike up (although it probably would)...

IIRC The UK had to fight to get exemptions on books and childrens' clothes and a reduced level of VAT on things like gas and electricity, the original EU plan was for *everything* to be charged at one rate and part of the agreement was that no other goods would be included subsequently.

But, again, VAT hits the less well off harder.