50 years since The Grocer won.

[zeitghost]

July 27, 1965: Edward Heath is the surprise new leader of the Conservative Party - BT

For dear old Freako, this relates to a story about Ted "Grocer" Heath winning the election for leader of the Conservative Party in 1965.

A dark day for Britain if there ever was one.

Reggie Maudling eventually left under a bit of a cloud.

Are we allowed to go "Enoch, Enoch, Enoch"?


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Maudling

This bit is interesting:

Maudling was able to remove income tax from owner occupiers' residential premises.

No one mention it to Gideon, he might get ideas.

The original sin was the abolition of income tax on the notional rent that you paid to yourself as an owner-occupier, which disappeared in Reginald Maudling's 1963 budget.

Before that, owning your own home or any other asset was treated in the same way by the tax system.

Afterwards, it made sense to own an asset – your home – on which the return was not taxed, particularly when you could deduct mortgage interest from your other income.

Even more frightening is that the standard rate of income tax was raised from 7/9d in the £ to 8/3d.

IRRC 8/3d in the £ is over 40%. (It's 41.25%).

Stone me.

'The tax system is as complicated today as it was in the sixties' - Telegraph

here were three rates of income tax in 1965-66 and 12 rates of surtax.

Earned income attracted a special relief of two ninths, you got relief for children but the family allowance was taxable.

The individual basic rate was 41.25pc on taxable incomes exceeding £300 a year with the top rate of surtax at 55pc, giving a maximum combined rate of 96.25pc.

Does anyone understand that?


This

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/...9650051_en.pdf

shows the flat rate NI contributions.

They don't appear to be percentages.

Pages 108, 109, 110.

So if you earned more than £5/week, you paid 10/2d per week, with employer paying 11/5d.

If you earned less, you paid 5/11d and the employer paid 15/8d.

Interesting.

Even more interesting is that women had a different scale.

Nothing like making stuff as complicated as you can.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imputed_rent