Wealth Tax

[baggieal]

Suggested by Labour for the super rich which is a good idea! Pity though Labour refrain from saying how this will work!!

Boris is making the young - who can't get a house & working for average/below average income, already screwed by a decade of hapless Politics to work harder to subsidise older richer people. They promised to do the opposite. I actually spoke to an NHS worker today who laughed at the pathetic 1% increase and already said they will be £45 worse off per month with these reforms plus have a 3% increase in Council Tax!

A wealth tax on mansions over 3 million and anyone having more than 2 properties in this same wealth bracket should be for starters. Not going to happen though!

[westcountryvillain]

Is it because Labour think that if they were to disclose the detail then the Tories would nick the idea and badge it as their own? Would be quite a good tactic votes wise to let things continue to unravel and pile the pressure on Johnson.

Difficult to impose a mansion tax if money is tied up in property not earning any rental income, it would I guess force sales & prices would go down which would net the Treasury less stamp duty? Is Inheritance Tax a more proportionate way to deal with the issue using thresholds above which the % rises?

[baggieal]

Is it because Labour think that if they were to disclose the detail then the Tories would nick the idea and badge it as their own? Would be quite a good tactic votes wise to let things continue to unravel and pile the pressure on Johnson.

Difficult to impose a mansion tax if money is tied up in property not earning any rental income, it would I guess force sales & prices would go down which would net the Treasury less stamp duty? Is Inheritance Tax a more proportionate way to deal with the issue using thresholds above which the % rises?

Yes thresholds would be a good idea! With social reform it said nobody would pay more than 86,000!!! Should those who have assets of 5 million or so not fund 100% of care themselves! Bit like that lottery winner who won around 15 million and still collects his state pension. Greedy t wat!

[Calgarybaggy]

The problem with taxing wealth instead of income is that the two do not necessarily go hand in hand, For example, a farmer may have millions of dollars of wealth tied up in the land and equipment but very little income due to a bad harvest etc. So it's not a very efficient way of taxing people, which is why governments have traditionally shied away from taxing wealth as such. It may seem like a great idea to tax the Bill Gates of the world 1% of his wealth especially when you compare his wealth to the average person who owns a modest house and has a modest job. But to put it into perspective, in the United States if you did of 100% wealth tax on the top 1%, in other words you literally confiscated all of their wealth, the US government would not collect enough money to pay the interest on the national debt. The way our modern democracies are run, by far the biggest billionaire is the government and the debt that the government inevitably runs up trying to be all things to all people. Ultimately, governments have to reduce spending if they want to stay afloat because you cannot keep borrowing and taxing forever especially when they overspend during a crisis such as a war or a pandemic. If you remember the financial crisis in Britain in the 1970s, that was directly related to the debt arising out of World War II which successive governments tried to tax out of existence but which slowed the economy down so much that unemployment started rising, government outlays started rising but government revenues actually declined. Whatever you may think of Margaret Thatcher and her method of governing, you cannot but help notice the fact that when she dramatically cut income taxes, the economy picked up and the government actually collected way more revenue. So wealth taxes are one of those ideas that may seem like a no-brainer but may not actually work in practice, you may not collect as much as you think you're going to collect and even if you can collect it, there will be almost certainly a corresponding reduction in the amount of investment because those wealthy people will have to liquidate investments in order to pay the tax thereby slowing down the economy and reducing the income tax revenues. It's not a simple fix by any means and may backfire badly. Just sayin!

[WBA123]

Personally I don't like this wording, and Labour are again not providing what people really want.

It feels to me like they are trying to punish people for being wealthy. It just won't cut through to the normal, everyday person who has aspirations and want opportunity to have wealth.

Absolutely tax people and companies correctly, but don't call it a 'wealth tax' for Christ's sake. You are alienating a large percentage of the public.

[baggieal]

The problem with taxing wealth instead of income is that the two do not necessarily go hand in hand, For example, a farmer may have millions of dollars of wealth tied up in the land and equipment but very little income due to a bad harvest etc. So it's not a very efficient way of taxing people, which is why governments have traditionally shied away from taxing wealth as such. It may seem like a great idea to tax the Bill Gates of the world 1% of his wealth especially when you compare his wealth to the average person who owns a modest house and has a modest job. But to put it into perspective, in the United States if you did of 100% wealth tax on the top 1%, in other words you literally confiscated all of their wealth, the US government would not collect enough money to pay the interest on the national debt. The way our modern democracies are run, by far the biggest billionaire is the government and the debt that the government inevitably runs up trying to be all things to all people. Ultimately, governments have to reduce spending if they want to stay afloat because you cannot keep borrowing and taxing forever especially when they overspend during a crisis such as a war or a pandemic. If you remember the financial crisis in Britain in the 1970s, that was directly related to the debt arising out of World War II which successive governments tried to tax out of existence but which slowed the economy down so much that unemployment started rising, government outlays started rising but government revenues actually declined. Whatever you may think of Margaret Thatcher and her method of governing, you cannot but help notice the fact that when she dramatically cut income taxes, the economy picked up and the government actually collected way more revenue. So wealth taxes are one of those ideas that may seem like a no-brainer but may not actually work in practice, you may not collect as much as you think you're going to collect and even if you can collect it, there will be almost certainly a corresponding reduction in the amount of investment because those wealthy people will have to liquidate investments in order to pay the tax thereby slowing down the economy and reducing the income tax revenues. It's not a simple fix by any means and may backfire badly. Just sayin!

Good points there! It would be very easy too so assets are tied up in property/companies etc to get around any tax of this type!

[mickd1961]

It’s the politics of envy from Labour once again as you clearly observe 123.

My tax bill is monumental compared to a lot of people as I explained earlier, I pay more in tax each year than most people pay in a decade.

I accept that fact and look forward to paying this extra 1.25% IF it goes to social care ( it won’t! )

As Calgary states wealth is a very diverse mistress, I don’t have oodles of disposable cash, I put my earnings into rental and holiday property and into buying my work site.

I’m property rich and cash poor but each of those properties attracts various forms of taxation.

So just how much should I pay in tax and should I ( like the land rich farmer ) be forced into taking loans out against my properties to pay bigger taxes?

I would prefer a ring fenced tax for social care that was managed on a cross party basis and overlooked by a non government regulatory body to make sure every penny was well spent.

Procurement would be done by professionals and held to the highest standards, I would allow a civil servant within a mile of buying.

I also think that a lottery type scenario would be a good idea whereby everyone of working age had to pay into some sort of insurance policy to cover their potential needs in retirement but a draw was made each week of every person paying into the scheme.

Just a thought.

[TipperaryBaggie]

Personally I don't like this wording, and Labour are again not providing what people really want.

It feels to me like they are trying to punish people for being wealthy. It just won't cut through to the normal, everyday person who has aspirations and want opportunity to have wealth.

Absolutely tax people and companies correctly, but don't call it a 'wealth tax' for Christ's sake. You are alienating a large percentage of the public.

Well said 123. Imposing a wealth tax would alienate anyone who wants to make a go of life rather than sit on their arse and doing nothing. Although I am envious of their wealth, I always admire people who make money, assuming that it is achieved legally.

[baggieal]

Well said 123. Imposing a wealth tax would alienate anyone who wants to make a go of life rather than sit on their arse and doing nothing. Although I am envious of their wealth, I always admire people who make money, assuming that it is achieved legally.

Never envious of anyone Tipp as most of the have nots are far far happier than those that have! Personally, I think it's rather sad to see people like Mike Ashley and Alan Sugar still trying to make their next million - and its certainly not to keep young! All fool Mr Hays the Travel Agent who was super rich and croaked at his desk! What was the point!

I will retire in 3 years and enjoy every second of it and the money. I didn't expect anything when my parents passed so certainly not going to purposely leave any wealth to the kids. I invested in their education and they have excellent jobs so they can stand on their own two feet - like I did!