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UK taxation policy.

There is some truth to it, I am just not sure it works when its the top 1.8%. One would assume you need a good mass of people with more disposable income spending it on tourism, restaurants etc for that to work. But what do I know.
 
Haven't seen anyone with a good thing to say on this budget. Its mainly benefitting the already well-off. There is nothing that actually looks like it would help the economy, or assist low earners.

Its not something the tories would have done, but actually increasing taxes on the high earners such as adding a 50% rate over a higher threashold to fund pay increases for nurses, teachers etc and increaeses in benefits in line with inflation would probably have a much better effect that expecting trickle-down to work.
 
With the biggest tax cuts for 50 years despite record debt, which is already at record highs after Covid and will only get higher due to the energy cap, all funded from the public credit card I can only assume the Conservatives know they're going to lose the next election and are pursuing a scorched earth policy at this point.
 
Alsty said:
With the biggest tax cuts for 50 years despite record debt, which is already at record highs after Covid and will only get higher due to the energy cap, all funded from the public credit card I can only assume the Conservatives know they're going to lose the next election and are pursuing a scorched earth policy at this point.
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I can't see how they can survive it. The 98.2% are sat here today saying "WTF....".
 
So the average premier league footballer earns £60,000 a week (£3,120,000 per year).

They are now saving 5% on everything over £150k per year.

I make that an instant pay rise of about £148,000 per year !!

And that's just an "average" premier league player.
 
Indeed. I think it's just poor optics more than anything else. We all know premier League football players make up next to zero of the tax base but... Optics.
 
I get the idea of why they are doing this, but it just feels so wrong. There is a balance between encouraging business and workers to base themselves here, and collecting enough tax to pay for everything. Its a big gamble, and as wrong as it feels, you have to hope it ends up working out (A bit like Brexit) because if this approach fails, from what I understand it is going to burden a generation with the debt that needs paying off.

I would be much happier seeing those working in the public sector providing services to the public get a pay rise that encourages people to go in to those professions than get a tax cut.

I don't know the full details of it, but I become more and more supporting of a Universal Basic Income, so everyone in the country gets enough money to live each month. Those who work get extra and those who don't, still can live without having to worry about paying bills or putting food on the table. We must be at a point where we can make this happen even if it means some of us paying more taxes?

I also like the idea of tax levels been the same around the world, to stop a race to the lowest rates. Harder to implement, but still a good vision to have.

I am also shocked, and I can never remember a time in the past, where you can buy more Euros than Dollars with the Pound. Clearly the markets are not overly impressed by this budget.
 
It’s good to have the real Conservative party back in terms of tax cutting for the rich.
 
I think the idea behind Truss’ policy is that her tax cuts will drive up investment into the country by businesses, therefore meaning that more people will get jobs and more people will pay into the tax system.

It’s certainly a bold gamble, but it could work. It all depends on Truss attracting that investment and growth that she’s promising, though.
 
As an old git who has followed economics and politics for fifty years, I have never heard of a government deliberately borrowing large amounts of money simply to cut taxes.
Not ever.
We are all going to hell in a handcart, downhill fast, with no brakes.
Covid and Brexit had put us in a challenging place financially as a nation, but this fiscal policy seems destined to fail, quickly, and hard.
Energy, inflation, buckets of strikes on the horizon, new covid season, raised interest rates, and a Tory leader who hasn't got a clucking clue.
Lord help us all, I'm off to the corner shop for candles, more coal and toilet rolls.
 
Matt N said:
I think the idea behind Truss’ policy is that her tax cuts will drive up investment into the country by businesses, therefore meaning that more people will get jobs and more people will pay into the tax system.

It’s certainly a bold gamble, but it could work. It all depends on Truss attracting that investment and growth that she’s promising, though.
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It would probably do more for the economy to give 1000 people £100 instead of 100 people £1000.
But the tories care more about the 100 so they get the tax cuts.
 
As always with these fiscal events the devil will be in the detail.

On the face of it I’m a little disappointed, the whole system needs a complete shake up not just tax cuts for all.
 
Before today, I thought this was all a big gamble. But now that it's even worse than I thought, I no longer subscribe to that view. This isn't a gamble, it's simply ideologically driven lust without a care in the world whether it fails or not. Nothing more, nothing less.

This strategy (and dare I say it, on a lesser scale than this, such is the gravity of what has just happened) has been tried before and failed. At least when the likes of Thatcher and Lawson tried this nonsense, it was seen as radical. It was seen as new. The national debt was lower. The economy, social conditions and makeup of industry was different. Even if you look at the extremely obvious moral implications of what they've just done, the strategy is absolute insanity and that's what leads me to believe this is little more than nostalgic driven Thatcherite lust.

Don't take my word for it. Look at what's happened to the pound. Watch what happens to the FTSE on Monday. Hell, read the Daily Mail or Telegraph tomorrow if you like. This is the resurrection of steam trains to solve the problems of diesel locomotives in the electric age.

Truss and Kwateng seem to have completely accepted that the red wall is a lost cause. You just had to see the old red wall Tory MP's today sat in absolute silence in the Commons as Kwateng gave their seats away before their very eyes. Tonight, they either remain silent or a brave few have taken to social media to mildly protest this immoral abomination.

I'd imagine the electioneering behind this will very much follow the nostalgic path that's driven the policies themselves. When people are poorer and suffering in 2024, Truss and co will wheel out loads of graphs saying that the economy is "technically" growing so therefore they've done their job. When questioned as to why only a few are actually feeling the benefits of it, the book of blame will list off every other entity other than themselves. I suspect that list will include Labour, Remainers, Foreigners, the "idle", the French, "Wokes", Foreigners and "climate alarmists".
 
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Rightly or wrongly, I’m actually coming around to the view that Truss could be a very radical PM, more so than many predicted prior to her coming into power.

This certainly appears to be some of the most radical economic policy seen in quite some time. It’s a pretty bold gamble; I’m sure Truss and Kwarteng know what they’re doing and have very good reason to implement this, but it is certainly a gamble.

It could definitely work, though; Truss’ ultimate aim is to stimulate the economy by attracting investment and stimulating growth through these investors providing people with jobs.
 
AstroDan said:
Why?

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
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I’ll admit the announcements did raise my eyebrows a bit, but seeing as Truss has managed to become Prime Minister, I’d like to think that she has a fair bit of knowledge about this stuff. I’d hope the same for Kwarteng.

There must surely be a reason why they are in charge and not us; I know I’ve been criticised in the past for “having too much faith in the PM/the government”, but I do firmly believe that they must have a good reason to enact these policies. It’s all very well and good sitting here doing armchair politics, but I can imagine that it gets very different once you’re the one in charge. Truss won’t be implementing these policies to intentionally annoy people, she will be implementing these policies because rightly or wrongly, she believes that tax cuts will be good for the country based on the information and knowledge that she has.

I will not deny that today’s announcements are very out there; they certainly raised my eyebrows, and I am somewhat concerned about the potential ramifications if this bold move goes wrong. I’m also not sure whether cutting taxes for the rich during a cost of living crisis is in particularly good taste. But those are just my armchair thoughts, without any of the information that Truss and Kwarteng can access and the combined economic acumen they have (far better than my own).

I have my reservations about these policies currently, but I am willing to trust them and have some sense of optimism that this economic gamble could work because, simply put, they know far more than I do about this type of thing.

I see having a government to handle these economic decisions for me as being a bit like hiring a plumber to fix your toilet. In the latter analogy, I wouldn’t be stood over the plumber going “Ooh, you shouldn’t be putting that pipe there” or “Oh no, that isn’t going to work” because they will have considerable knowledge of the subject that I don’t have. The Conservatives may not align with my own political beliefs, and they may not be who I’d vote for in a general election, but I apply a similar train of thought to the government in general.

Do you get what I mean?
 
Matt N said:
I’ll admit the announcements did raise my eyebrows a bit, but seeing as Truss has managed to become Prime Minister, I’d like to think that she has a fair bit of knowledge about this stuff. I’d hope the same for Kwarteng.

There must surely be a reason why they are in charge and not us; I know I’ve been criticised in the past for “having too much faith in the PM/the government”, but I do firmly believe that they must have a good reason to enact these policies. It’s all very well and good sitting here doing armchair politics, but I can imagine that it gets very different once you’re the one in charge. Truss won’t be implementing these policies to intentionally annoy people, she will be implementing these policies because rightly or wrongly, she believes that tax cuts will be good for the country based on the information and knowledge that she has.

I will not deny that today’s announcements are very out there; they certainly raised my eyebrows, and I am somewhat concerned about the potential ramifications if this bold move goes wrong. I’m also not sure whether cutting taxes for the rich during a cost of living crisis is in particularly good taste. But those are just my armchair thoughts, without any of the information that Truss and Kwarteng can access and the combined economic acumen they have (far better than my own).

I have my reservations about these policies currently, but I am willing to trust them and have some sense of optimism that this economic gamble could work because, simply put, they know far more than I do.

I see having a government to handle these economic decisions for me as being a bit like hiring a plumber to fix your toilet. In the latter analogy, I wouldn’t be stood over the plumber going “Ooh, you shouldn’t be putting that pipe there” or “Oh no, that isn’t going to work” because they will have considerable knowledge of the subject that I don’t have. The Conservatives may not align with my own political beliefs, and they may not be who I’d vote for in a general election, but I apply a similar train of thought to the government in general.

Do you get what I mean?
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No.

Truss and Kwarteng are stupid.

Just look at global markets today and their reaction.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
 
Matt N said:
I’ll admit the announcements did raise my eyebrows a bit, but seeing as Truss has managed to become Prime Minister, I’d like to think that she has a fair bit of knowledge about this stuff. I’d hope the same for Kwarteng.

There must surely be a reason why they are in charge and not us; I know I’ve been criticised in the past for “having too much faith in the PM/the government”, but I do firmly believe that they must have a good reason to enact these policies. It’s all very well and good sitting here doing armchair politics, but I can imagine that it gets very different once you’re the one in charge. Truss won’t be implementing these policies to intentionally annoy people, she will be implementing these policies because rightly or wrongly, she believes that tax cuts will be good for the country based on the information and knowledge that she has.

I will not deny that today’s announcements are very out there; they certainly raised my eyebrows, and I am somewhat concerned about the potential ramifications if this bold move goes wrong. I’m also not sure whether cutting taxes for the rich during a cost of living crisis is in particularly good taste. But those are just my armchair thoughts, without any of the information that Truss and Kwarteng can access and the combined economic acumen they have (far better than my own).

I have my reservations about these policies currently, but I am willing to trust them and have some sense of optimism that this economic gamble could work because, simply put, they know far more than I do about this type of thing.

I see having a government to handle these economic decisions for me as being a bit like hiring a plumber to fix your toilet. In the latter analogy, I wouldn’t be stood over the plumber going “Ooh, you shouldn’t be putting that pipe there” or “Oh no, that isn’t going to work” because they will have considerable knowledge of the subject that I don’t have. The Conservatives may not align with my own political beliefs, and they may not be who I’d vote for in a general election, but I apply a similar train of thought to the government in general.

Do you get what I mean?
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No. If my plumber said to me "sod your leaking toilet, I've just got a call from the rich guy next door to fix his instead. And if I fix his, I'm sure he'll be so pleased with it that he'll hire me to eventually fix yours as well. Can I have some money now please?" then I'd kick him out of my house.

May I ask, other than blind trust, what are you basing any of this argument on? You have looked into Neo-liberal economics pre 2000 haven't you?
 
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