Reply to: I know, let's uses taxes to re-inflate the house market

[Addanc]

Dump tax credits, raise personal allowance, sack lots of HMRC bods. Simple

Nu Liebour think there so much smarter than the average punter and hence are much better qualified to spend our money, unfortunately when we are talking Nu Liebour we are talking the shallow end of the gene pool.

[RichardCranium]

What? And have a leader that wasn't elected?

That could never happen here.

Where were you when the John Major coup got him in without being elected?

I was referring to the present encumbrance. Gutso Gordo, the first hereditary Prime Minister.

[TimberWolf]

Since when was life fair? If life was fair I would have been born as the invisible man and could frequent the female changing room at my local gym.

Impressive use of those superhuman powers this may be, there's no need for invisibility powers. When you are born you are allowed to use the women's changing room and this lasts until you are aged 6 or so - or much longer if you are female.

[zathras]

In the Times today it states that 8 Billion pounds has been overpaid through Brown's failing 'flagship' tax credits system since its inception in 2003, of which only 2.7 Billion has been recouped. That is truly scandalous and abolition must surely be a priority.

This is one way where the Tories could actually reduce taxes and spending while doing something to help the poor.

If you increased tax allowances then less people pay tax in the first place and will therefore be able to reduce the money that is paid out in tax credits. The potential loss and money paid out goes down.

Frankly it always struck me a bit daft that a department tasked with collecting money should no be the one which distributes it. The situation is so bad that the Treasury budget has ballooned and is now one of the highest spending departments. I get the feeling that the Tax Credit system was a way of giving Brown a lot of power in domestic policy since it was his department that was responsible both for collecting taxes and distributing welfare. Ergo he gets to 'Redistribute' without actually calling it redistribution.

Another daft thing seems to be paying money to the government only for them to give it back to you. (after filling in a complex form, countless phone calls, means testing and all the other cr*p which seems to go with tax credits)

Increasing allowances would also put the Labour party in it's place. In the last budget tax was increased for the poorist (by abolishing the 10p rate) now the Tories can come along and actually reduce there tax bill.

Another advantage is that as people do not pay any money, do not get any money then there is less opportunity for fraud.

[sasguru]

Since when was life fair? If life was fair I would have been born as the invisible man and could frequent the female changing room at my local gym.

Just drill a hole from the men's changing room.
HTH

[BrilloPad]

It's only "fair".

Since when was life fair? If life was fair I would have been born as the invisible man and could frequent the female changing room at my local gym.

[Spartacus]

He is always announcing these measures and those measures but what has he actually done other than write blank cheques to banks and mortgage companies with taxpayers money.

<spit_spewing_rant>
If someone comes up to me and grabs my wallet, takes £20 out of it and gives it to me saying, "Hey brother man, take this money and go and buy yourself a meal, you look really hungry my friend" what am I supposed to do?

Thank him? I will f565656 tw2t him!

If he was really serious about "helping" the cash strapped homeowner WTF does he just not reduce the tax burden?

Why does he take our money and give it to soemone else and then reckon he is doing us a favour?

Arragagagh!!!
</spit_spewing_rant>

It's only "fair".

[DimPrawn]

He is always announcing these measures and those measures but what has he actually done other than write blank cheques to banks and mortgage companies with taxpayers money.

<spit_spewing_rant>
If someone comes up to me and grabs my wallet, takes £20 out of it and gives it to me saying, "Hey brother man, take this money and go and buy yourself a meal, you look really hungry my friend" what am I supposed to do?

Thank him? I will f565656 tw2t him!

If he was really serious about "helping" the cash strapped homeowner WTF does he just not reduce the tax burden?

Why does he take our money and give it to soemone else and then reckon he is doing us a favour?

Arragagagh!!!
</spit_spewing_rant>

If FTB cannot borrow enough money, why not suspend Stamp Duty, meaning buyers have more money for a deposit.

Perhaps Brown hasn't thought of that angle?

[sunnysan]

Brown

He is always announcing these measures and those measures but what has he actually done other than write blank cheques to banks and mortgage companies with taxpayers money.

<spit_spewing_rant>
If someone comes up to me and grabs my wallet, takes £20 out of it and gives it to me saying, "Hey brother man, take this money and go and buy yourself a meal, you look really hungry my friend" what am I supposed to do?

Thank him? I will f565656 tw2t him!

If he was really serious about "helping" the cash strapped homeowner WTF does he just not reduce the tax burden?

Why does he take our money and give it to soemone else and then reckon he is doing us a favour?

Arragagagh!!!
</spit_spewing_rant>

[stackpole]

Do you think they'll actually do this?

Let's nationalise the mortgage industry

The question is, will it save a few marginals in 2010?

[expat]

The next nuLieBore numbskull that tells me that they are "on your side" is gonna get a

That catch phrase should get them convicted on its own.

When Brown says "hard-working families" I don't think he means you.

[expat]

What? And have a leader that wasn't elected?

That could never happen here. Just like we could never have election 'irregularities'.

Where were you when the John Major coup got him in without being elected?

[stackpole]

Hmmm. I underestimated Labour...

[RichardCranium]

If mortgages effectively become smaller, won't that make them:

1. easier to get, and thus...
2. house prices are pushed up again, making them...
3. even more inflated than they are now, resulting in...
4. another desperate scheme to help people buy houses, sending us...
5. back to step 1 where mortgages are...

The nice thing about inflation is that it raises unemployment and your pay is always behind the prices so fewer people that can get a mortgage (unemployed) and those in work can't afford to buy a house and those that can either are too depressed to want to or they just leave the country. That all prevents house prices going up too much.

See, guzzle-guts Gordo really is an economic genius.

PS I forgot to mention about the interest rates going up, didn't I? Only old mortgage debts get smaller, not repayments.

[stackpole]

Net result, much the same as the 1970s. High inflation, high unemployment but the good news is your mortgage effectively gets smaller.

If mortgages effectively become smaller, won't that make them:

1. easier to get, and thus...
2. house prices are pushed up again, making them...
3. even more inflated than they are now, resulting in...
4. another desperate scheme to help people buy houses, sending us...
5. back to step 1 where mortgages are...