The Big NIC U turn

[barrydidit]

you could be golden for a few years.

Before gradually turning to mahogany?

[MrMarkyMark]

Before gradually turning to mahogany?

You don't know how right you are with that statement, one of the darkest in town .

However, without straying into too much unnecessary detail, such a fact has saved my bacon a number of times as local law enforcement assumed I was a local.
No gloves were involved, but I don't like strangers going through my stuff

[stek]

Just got an email from IPSE claiming the credit for the u-turn!!

[SueEllen]

Just got an email from IPSE claiming the credit for the u-turn!!

Odd I'm definitely sure MacDonut didn't mention them.

[eek]

Just got an email from IPSE claiming the credit for the u-turn!!

Is that like those bomb attacks where shortly after the explosion 15 different groups claim responsibility...

[m0n1k3r]

Changes to class 4 NICs have been scrapped. More to follow.

linky

The Guardian has the letter sent to Tory MPs linky

Dividend allowance probably about to be scrapped to make up for the loss.

[clearedforlanding]

Surely this illustrates the truth of Eric Hobsbawm's criticism of the working class inability to fight back positively against injustice?

In "Labouring Classes" he says they would rather sing hymns on a mountain side than commit themselves to action!

This may well be a wild generalisation. ..but it is not without truth.

Lots of love,

AtW

[NickFitz]

Apparently May has stated that she has "every full confidence" in the Chancellor. So that's him out. Any bets on who she'll dump the job on next?

[scooterscot]

Fantastic

https://www.facebook.com/TheIndepend...4590209531636/

[chopper]

Thing is, the solution is pretty simple. If I were to replace Philip Hammond, my Autumn budget would look like this:

1) Abolish Employee NICs
2) But retain Employer NICs for employed people.
3) Increase income tax rates in line with what Employee NICs were
4) This way, everyone - employee, self employed, etc, pays the same tax rate
5) Increase personal allowance for old people to compensate them (as they don't pay Employee NICs)
6) Reclassify dividends from close companies so that it would come under regular income tax. Corporation Tax relief on dividends for said close companies. Dividend tax rates for non-close companies (and no CT relief) to remain differentiated. And I mean close companies rather than PSCs.

This I think would be fair. There would need to continue be rules regarding employer NICs to ensure false self-employment isn't used to avoid them as well as other employment benefits. Some onus should be on the hiring company here, as they are the ones forcing Deliveroo drivers, Uber drivers, Amazon couriers, Cleaners etc into self employment, whilst ensuring there is a legitimate option for genuine freelancers. Wooly tests like we have for IR35 should be scrapped and replaced with something more robust.

I would also change rules on UK corporate profits being shipped to low CT economies, i.e. no CT relief on payments to overseas related companies other than legitimate supplies of goods. i.e. Starbucks couldn't say "Starbucks UK is paying £1,000,000 per Kg of Starbucks coffee beans to Starbucks Luxembourg", that price would have to be realistically fair. Thus ensuring Amazon et al pay a fair rate of tax on what they earn in the UK.


I would also scrap the barnet formula, devolve corporation tax in Scotland to the Scottish parliament, devolve council funding to the Scottish parliament (so it could choose to scrap or replace council tax and business rates if it chose), devolve further the income tax raising powers to the Scottish parliament. There would just be a fair portion of the income tax rate in Scotland to cover shared services (e.g. military and whatever). Scotland could then choose to cut tax if it wanted to, but the onus would very much be on them to ensure education, medicine, police, prisons, fire provision, roads, rail, etc etc were all funded. However, said devolution act would have a paragraph in it that if Scotland failed as a result of this (and I have no reason to believe it would), then all SNP MSPs will be exiled to a rusting off shore fort. (e.g. the 'Principality of Sealand').

Increased devolution to the Scottish parliament must, however, result in lower representation in Westminster. Scottish MPs shouldn't be able to influence non-Scottish policy. If the UK wants to scrap sunday trading rules in England, then Scottish MPs should not be able to block it. For example.

(Yes, I went off on one there, but I just started writing the next budget...)