Euro slowly unravelling !!

[Cyberman]

I'm not disagreeing, but aren't there examples where there's a single currency but differing political and tax regimes? The USA springs to mind as does Australia (there are probably other examples), they are federated states with their seperate states having legislatures and tax raising powers and an overall federal government, how does this differ so much from the EU (in practice not principle obviously) ?

I may be miles off the beam here and would be happy to be corrected, but it seems to me that apart from the likes of the USA having an official federated government there are marked similarities to the EU as it stands with the Euro.

Tax in the USA and Australia is common throughout the country. Different staes can then have individual rates of other taxes(eg: sales tax in the USA), which we also have. For instance the council tax varies across different parts of the country, and also Scotland have their own taxes and subsidies from the UK HMG. However, the MAIN taxes such as Income tax, National Insurance and VAT are common across the UK.
Europe has different MAIN tax rates in virtually every state, and also cultural differences in that we own about 80% of our homes, but the Germans and French tend to rent. Thus high interest rates set by the EU would affect us more adversely because of reliance on mortgages. This is just one example but I am sure many others can come up with similar examples.

[tim123]

Tax in the USA and Australia is common throughout the country. Different staes can then have individual rates of other taxes(eg: sales tax in the USA), which we also have. For instance the council tax varies across different parts of the country, and also Scotland have their own taxes and subsidies from the UK HMG. However, the MAIN taxes such as Income tax, National Insurance and VAT are common across the UK.

US states also have local income tax. Some (well one) even charges you its state income tax just because you have some connction there, even though you don't live there.

tim

[Cyberman]

US states also have local income tax. Some (well one) even charges you its state income tax just because you have some connction there, even though you don't live there.

tim

Which agrees more or less with what I said about state taxes. Their local income tax is probably very similar to our council tax, which in my view would be much much fairer if it was a tax on income. People such as pensioners on low incomes have to keep putting up with above-inflation rises on council tax(25% of which is to pay bloated public sector pensions anyway!!), but with no corresponding rise in their pensions.

[tim123]

Which agrees more or less with what I said about state taxes. Their local income tax is probably very similar to our council tax,

No, it's an Income tax, as in, absolute percentage of income.

Some states, like Alaska (which has more than enough oil revenue) charge 0%, but around 10% is the norm.

tim

[Cheshire Cat]

Can't be long before Germany marches into the Czech Republic.

[wurzel]

1.00 GBP = 1.07913 EUR according to xe.com.

Has dropped nearly 3 cents in less than 1 day

[BlasterBates]

I find it fascinating. The good ship UK has just hit an iceberg, but the passengers haven't noticed the thundering of splicing steel, or the bits of ice falling on the deck because they're too busy staring through a telescope and laughing at HMS Eurozone, whose engine has stalled.

[sasguru]

I find it fascinating. The good ship UK has just hit an iceberg, but the passengers haven't noticed the thundering of splicing steel, or the bits of ice falling on the deck because they're too busy staring through a telescope and laughing at HMS Eurozone, whose engine has stalled.

Poor analogy.
Fact is both ships are hearing the thundering of splicing steel, or the bits of ice falling on the deck.
But the HMS Eurozone is a badly made huge ship cobbled together from smaller ships, some of which are solid and others which are leaking like a sieve.
Theoretically HMS UK being smaller and nimbler would be better off to right herself and fix the damage, but unfortunately her captain is a complete and utter twunt and insists on driving the ship further into the iceberg.

[Purple Dalek]

I find it fascinating. The good ship UK has just hit an iceberg, but the passengers haven't noticed the thundering of splicing steel, or the bits of ice falling on the deck because they're too busy staring through a telescope and laughing at HMS Eurozone, whose engine has stalled.

Quite! Do you know that Decembers inflation figures show the first fall since records began... I know it isn't the textbook definition of deflation, but in my book it's a pretty strong indicator it's there, just being hidden by the governments imaginative accounting methods.

[oracleslave]

insists on driving the ship further into the iceberg.

What 3 major things would you do differently?