Flat tax seems to be taking off...

[boredsenseless]

... and you really expected a plan dreamt up by politicians to be any better than the one they dreamt up before???

[Lucifer Box]

The more I read this, the less flat this proposal seems. Now he says he wants to retain tax relief on pensions as well. No doubt a few other lobby groups would successfully get their relief or exemption excluded from the flattening after suitable pressure and party donations so we'd end up with something not really much better or different than before.

[wendigo100]

How is your new job going Marc?

Good so far. I'm dealing with an assurance company in Liverpool but luckily I probably won't need to go up there.

[BoredBloke]

"What they really need to do is get rid of National Insurance Contributions as well, so you just have one number to worry about"

They will never do that as it will allow everybody to see clearly how much money is being taken off them. Personally if I were employing staff, I would show the employers NI on their wage slip also, just so they can see how much the govt are actually earning on their behalf.

How is your new job going Marc?

[The Lone Gunman]

The fundamental change is in the thinking of the general public. As stated earlier, Joe Sun reader thinks it is "only fair" that higher earners pay a higher percentage of tax.

Once that idea is banished then you may be able to introduce a flat rate.
Put NI into general tax and make all personal income (from whatever source) taxable at say 20%. No allowances or offsets.
1 simple easily administered tax. Removes all need for things like IR35.
I would also suggest that companies are covered by the same tax law in that any monies "transfered" outside the country are taxed at the same rate so they can not make a huge profit in the UK and then hide it offshore to avoid UK tax.
If it is paid out from anywhere it is taxed at the flat rate.

[wendigo100]

No No No! As I keep saying, in these days of computers, tax should be calculated by complicated equations preferably involving random imaginary numbers.

What, like Duckworth/Lewis?

[xoggoth]

No No No! As I keep saying, in these days of computers, tax should be calculated by complicated equations preferably involving random imaginary numbers.

[wendigo100]

What they really need to do is get rid of National Insurance Contributions as well, so you just have one number to worry about.

[Lucifer Box]

So what exactly is the difference between the scheme that we have now with the 10% and 40% bands removed, and flat tax.

What is it that has to fundamentally change first before tax rates can be flattened?

tim

Presumably that all allowances, rebates, credits and any taxes other than income, corporation and VAT are abolished. At least it would be a step in the right direction to making the taxation system more transparent, and cheaper 'n' easier to run - which is a good objective in its own right. Maybe when the obvious benefits and saving for this are realised, it will be more politcally acceptable to start flattening the bands (the politically astute Chancellor would start by raising the bottom band up).

[milanbenes]

"What is it that has to fundamentally change first before tax rates can be flattened?",

the Government by any chance ?
Milan.

[tim123]

Maybe it's just a sap to get the scheme in and then the administration can make it flatter after the second post-election budget? .

So what exactly is the difference between the scheme that we have now with the 10% and 40% bands removed, and flat tax.

What is it that has to fundamentally change first before tax rates can be flattened?

tim

[Lucifer Box]

Maybe it's just a sap to get the scheme in and then the administration can make it flatter after the second post-election budget? Don't forget, due to years of NL conditioning most people, even those who would end up paying no tax at all, think flat tax is in some way "unfair" by not penalising the wealthy. Both NL and the LibDems would successfully crucify any party presenting a truly flat tax to the mindless electorate we have.

[Mailman]

However I see the tories plans are just a joke with several different banks depending on what you earn. So why bother with a flat tax if all you are doing is swapping one complicated form of income tax for another complicated form of income tax?

Mailman