Petition to get the gov to reconsider the dividend tax changes

[The Spartan]

We're nothing but easy targets, screw small businesses while pandering to the multinationals it's quite sickening

[tomtomagain]

So, in other words, nothing at all to do with either dividend tax changes, T&S changes, IR35 changes, or anything else new being proposed, nothing at all to do with this thread and nothing at all to do with the discussions being had?

The point being that Mr-Small-Guy does not have the options open to him to fake a loss that is open to large corporations.

The current dividend benefit allows him to pay himself a decent wage at the same time as growing his small business that one day, just could, rival the bigger business. It rewards him for taking a risk.

Changing the dividend tax takes away that tiny benefit.

Look at your local Coffee shop. Run by a local business man, contributing to his area. He pays tax at 18% on his profits. Starbucks next door ..... well they only declared their first profit in 17 years in the UK this year, due to public pressure. They paid £200k tax on £300M of sales in the UK.

Half a dozen contractors pay more in income tax to HMRC than Starbucks. Is that right? Or fair?

[Ticktock]

Large companies employ very aggressive measures to minimise their tax rate. Something that a small company just cannot do.

For example, lets pretend you start a coffee shop. You buy your beans and cups from a local supplier, sell coffee to the public and pay tax at 18% on the profit.

If you are an international well funded coffee chain you can do this.

Buy your beans from a wholly owned subsidiary in a low cost location at a premium rate and therefore minimise your profits whilst effectively shipping the money you take from your customers outside of the country.

You can also "Rent" your own brand from the same jurisdiction - again cutting down your declared profit.

And you can base your companies European operations somewhere like Luxembourg or Ireland and declare that to be your primary location whilst deriving 90% of your income from other locations within Europe.

I know a lawyer who works for a a very well-known US online retailer. She works in Luxembourg apparently. But the funny thing is I see her most days dropping her kids off to school in the Oxfordshire village where I live. Must do a lot of WFH. I wonder where her salary is being paid from?

So, in other words, nothing at all to do with either dividend tax changes, T&S changes, IR35 changes, or anything else new being proposed, nothing at all to do with this thread and nothing at all to do with the discussions being had?

[d000hg]

I'm in a similar position to you. I sell and rent software as a service. I have spent years part time developing this and now I'm fulltime on it. Suddenly I'm not a proper business anymore and I have to pay more tax that my bigger competitors don't.

AS I said, you are nothing like a contractor any more so claiming that your business model is the same as other contractors is daft. You ARE a 'proper' business, even if you didn't start out as one.

It's obvious that the dividends rate will tend to reach income tax levels.

Lots of things are obvious to a fool.

[DimPrawn]

I say it's missold insurance product, time to make class action lawsuit against Govt to return with interest all Employer National INSURANCE contributions since that "insurance" never paid out anything.

I think it insured the credit derivative swaps so we didn't have a credit crunch.....

[AtW]

It's a tax on giving people work in the UK. So basically an incentive to get someone overseas to do the work where there's no tax to pay.

I say it's missold insurance product, time to make class action lawsuit against Govt to return with interest all Employer National INSURANCE contributions since that "insurance" never paid out anything.

[AtW]

Offset it against the Corporation Tax improvements and it's not significant. If you have to now get Tesco Value Caviar tough tulip.

What corp tax improvements??? You mean 1% drop from 2017 and 1% drop from April 2020, with May 2020 being the month than Korbyn wins election and puts back corp tax to at least 25%?

Given that dividends tax easily increases taxation by 30% then corresponding IMMEDIATE corp tax drop should have been at least 5% to 15%, then, on balance I'd say ummm OK maybe that's all right change.

[AtW]

Better if each director wrote a letter to their MP and then voted the little **** out at the next election.

What should happen is that every director in locality puts some money together to help vote out whoever their current MPs is - does not even matter which party they are on.

[DimPrawn]

Why the fook business even pays employer's NI??? Business provides JOBS, why the fook should it pay tax on employment??? What the fook exactly is insured by that payment for the business, what's the benefit to the business that fooking employer insurance gives exactly???

It's a tax on giving people work in the UK. So basically an incentive to get someone overseas to do the work where there's no tax to pay.

[AtW]

Cant believe the number of contractors I have spoken to that think the increase in dividend tax is negligible , on 100K dividend its another 6K , approx 30% increase in taxes paid and that's without all of the other things we will be dealing with like increased NI , tax on expenses , etc. etc. thinking of working abroad for a few months and then coming back here to live off the profits and then repeat.

They'll feel it once they start filling in their tax return in January 2017!