Chancellors and maths.

[griff]

The standard of education amongst Tory Cabinet Ministers is incredibly low. Now Jeremy (careful) Hunt is at it. Now he's saying that "a pledge to halve the rate of inflation is the best tax cut right now". The problem is that halving inflation will bring it down to 5% at a time where the general pay increase offer this year, especially in the public sector, is no more that 4%. I could therefore argue that a 4% pay increase, even if inflation is halved, amounts to a stealth tax of another 1%. And, of course, if inflation doesn't reduce by half........

So how is halfing inflation a tax cut?

[_Stefan_Kuntz]

Inflation may well get halved but it will be nothing to do with the current government. There are lots of factors outside the scope of the government which will contribute to halving inflation, one being that the price of wholesale gas has dropped dramatically and no doubt within 6 months the price to the end customers will similarly fall.

[Blackdogblue]

Lying b45rards the lot of them… from day 1 in the manifesto was to raise the 40% tax bracket threshold which has now been locked for years… Peter Kay did a mum wants a bungalow… Mrs BDB wants a static caravan…. Robbing the middle class to bail out of Covid & the scrounges… (genuine cases aside) that boils more than my pi5s…

[howoldboy]

Assuming essential expenditure in 2021 of £100, the same essential expenditure in 2022 (with inflation at 10%) is £110.

If inflation does drop to 5% in 2023 the same essential expenditure would increase to £115.50.

Therefore to keep pace with inflation wages would need to increase by circa 15.5% over 2 years.

Anything less than that (and in most cases it will be significantly less than that) represents a significant decline in living standards.

[Blackdogblue]

It’s not about inflation for me (us including Mrs BD..

We are fortunate enough to be both in the 40% tax bracket.

It’s all fine on a wage rises but without raising the threshold money in the bank is decreasing,,,
I could get hypothetically a 20% pay risein March for the new tax year..
Say £20k .. after tax & NI it’s not actually that much what’s left.
The tax threshold is frightening as as the next band is 50%…

[Chauncey]

It's a good job that you lot don't have to live on my money,you would all be on lithium with stress,money doesn't bother me as long as I've got enough to get by,BDB often jokes that I'm like Steptoe but that's because I have to keep an eye on what I spend,six years from now when I get my oap pension I will feel loaded , be happy with yourselves,as long as you've got enough to live on then don't worry,leave that to the youngsters (40+) who will still be bickering 20 years from now,it's a great feeling unburdening your troubles and never going back to them,do something relaxing and enjoy life,I wouldn't swop a thing now

[howoldboy]

It's a good job that you lot don't have to live on my money,you would all be on lithium with stress,money doesn't bother me as long as I've got enough to get by,BDB often jokes that I'm like Steptoe but that's because I have to keep an eye on what I spend,six years from now when I get my oap pension I will feel loaded , be happy with yourselves,as long as you've got enough to live on then don't worry,leave that to the youngsters (40+) who will still be bickering 20 years from now,it's a great feeling unburdening your troubles and never going back to them,do something relaxing and enjoy life,I wouldn't swop a thing now

Great post Chalky.

Totally agree.

[_Stefan_Kuntz]

Clearly Chalky should consider himself to be very lucky that he does not have to pay as much tax and at as high a rate as BlackDogBlue and his wife. How they must envy Chalky.