The Looming Tax Increases

[Malcolm Robinson]

BTW did you notice Greek VAT up from 19% to 21%? UK VAT to 20% within months - that's now a cert! Even VAT on food being contemplated. Who's going to be the first to use the phrase The Decade of Discontent?

Within months..........

When VAT was temporarily reduced to 15%, the Chancellor added 2% duty to fuel to offset the reduction in tax collected from motorists. Now that VAT has been increased to 17.5% again this hidden tax has not been removed - hence recent rises in your fuel costs. Sign the petition at the link below to have this stealth tax removed!

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/DutyReduction/

[Andy Millne]

What about the new car registration tax as well? Introduce a "scrappage scheme" that manufacturers/dealers just absorb then slap on a "new car registration tax" while people are blinkered by it.

[threegee]

When VAT was temporarily reduced to 15%,...

Hang on, VAT was only temporally increased to 17.5%! But somehow that temporary became permanent.

It was originally introduced at 10%, and that was all the revenue that would be needed in the brave new Eurocentric world. That netted about the same as the former Purchase Tax on "luxury goods".

[Malcolm Robinson]

Hang on, VAT was only temporally increased to 17.5%! But somehow that temporary became permanent.

It was originally introduced at 10%, and that was all the revenue that would be needed in the brave new Eurocentric world. That netted about the same as the former Purchase Tax on "luxury goods".

I remember one illustrious chancellor rising VAT to 15% and saying that will be it for the foreseeable future, no more VAT rises! Not 15 months later he raised it to 17.5% and that was after scrapping ha'pennies so the programme I was using to do accounts had to be rewritten!

Spot the 'economical truths' March 24th!

[threegee]

Spot the 'economical truths' March 24th!

Has to be the most pointless budget in history! Gordon wants a give-away, and Alastair - asserting the new-found Independence of someone who's going to lose his job very soon - wants a responsible, steady-as-we-go, one. Neither can to do what will be needed - just yet!

So... if they somehow scrape back in they'll sneak all the tax increases etc. in at a later date, or if Cameron/Osborne get in, any measures won't get past the Commons vote or will be nullified very quickly. Either way it's a completely pointless pretence at going through the motions of normal government, and a waste of paper.

[Stephen]

Has to be the most pointless budget in history! Gordon wants a give-away, and Alastair - asserting the new-found Independence of someone who's going to lose his job very soon - wants a responsible, steady-as-we-go, one. Neither can to do what will be needed - just yet!

I just don't know what to expect from this budget for the reasons you've given. To give AD some credit, he did admit back in 2008 that the economy was heading for it's worst crisis in over 60 years, and the indications are that he wants to do something about the deficit. But his boss was in complete denial back then and I think he still is.

I'm not sure that voters want to hear parties tell them that taxes will have to go up AND spending cuts need to be made, and I think there's a good chance that some people saying now that they'll vote Conservative will actually vote Labour when they get into the polling station, in a reverse of the 1992 election. But if the next budget tries to pander to this, there's a good chance of a full-speed sterling crisis during the election campaign (i.e. on top of the slow-motion sterling crisis that we've already had).

[Malcolm Robinson]

The real problem seems to be all these dammed pollsters who anyone would think utter the word of God! Depending on what their latest projections are we see government policy change daily. Telling Gordo that he is the only person the country trust with their financial well being is like asking Fritzel to babysit!

One man had it right.........