General Election 2019 (UK)

[superfrank]

Not cherry picking - it was the first result from Google images. Take your pick.
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1323& ... CAc&uact=5

You cherry picked a one month surplus. The government will run a deficit in 2019.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governme ... t/june2019

[Naffman]

and free fibre BB all easily achievable for an economy the size of the UK.

That's going a bit too far, isn't it?

Fibre broadband is now an essential service that everybody must have, but water and gas isn't, we still have to pay for that.

Just checked my internet speed and its 180mbps - the world average is 57.91 - Australia (who've spent billions) is 35.11

That's not too bad is it

[jimibt]

Not cherry picking - it was the first result from Google images. Take your pick.
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1323& ... CAc&uact=5

You cherry picked a one month surplus. The government will run a deficit in 2019.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governme ... t/june2019

Cheers Frank -had a look. From the page you referenced, I found this:

franks-pick.PNG

[superfrank]

Cheers Frank -had a look. From the page you referenced, I found this

Yep, £1.8 trillion+ in debt (and that excludes huge unfunded liabilities such as public sector pensions). Many think a more realistic figure is nearer £5 trillion.

[jimibt]

i was in effect following the year on year increase since 2010-2011 as shown in the trail. Of course, given the RBS debacle of 2008-2010 and the other sub-prime shannanigans, unravelling the current position (purely on numbers) is well nigh impossible. In truth, we should probably prepare ourselves for further creative accounting to come into play in the coming months (if/when) we exit the EU...

[superfrank]

i was in effect following the year on year increase since 2010-2011 as shown in the trail. Of course, given the RBS debacle of 2008-2010 and the other sub-prime shannanigans, unravelling the current position (purely on numbers) is well nigh impossible. In truth, we should probably prepare ourselves for further creative accounting to come into play in the coming months (if/when) we exit the EU...

Yes, public bank bailouts also excluded.

[ShaunWhite]

I've often wondered why Governments don't just raise a little tax here and there and be frank about it,

I agree. That's what Labour are proposing but it's such a hard sell that they're sticking to the line that it will only affect 5%, which is misleading.
We'll maybe agrue how that tax money should be spent but we agree on the source of it.

My biggest gripe is In-Work Benefits, any company making a profit simply because tax payers are subsidising their wage bill should be subject to some sort of clawback.

[Derek27]

I've often wondered why Governments don't just raise a little tax here and there and be frank about it,

I agree. That's what Labour are proposing but it's such a hard sell that they're sticking to the line that it will only affect 5%, which is misleading.
We'll maybe agrue how that tax money should be spent but we agree on the source of it.

My biggest gripe is In-Work Benefits, any company making a profit simply because tax payers are subsidising their wage bill should be subject to some sort of clawback.

Perhaps it should be the struggling company and not the employee that applies for benefit.

[greenmark]

So its 2019 and my country is subsidising jobs to manipulate unemployment statistics.
Two phrases leap to mind - rough sleepers and food banks.
And on a different aspect, came across this chart, re: nhs spending.
https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/chart/ ... -1950-2020

[firlandsfarm]

I agree. That's what Labour are proposing but it's such a hard sell that they're sticking to the line that it will only affect 5%, which is misleading.

It also assumes that the top 5% don't have the ability to rearrange their money to avoid taxes. I used to be in the tax avoidance world and the calculation is simple … when the tax rates go up so does the interest in tax avoidance because more tax is saved. Some will move themselves out of the country, some will move their money out of the country and others will keep themselves and their money in the country but shelter their money from the tax man. A good tax avoidance scheme is difficult for HMRC to detect because a good scheme is one that doesn't go in the tax return, this is why the publishing of tax returns for politicians is such a nonsense, it's a political move to demand a politician does so. The Cameron affair involving offshore money/companies would never have got into any tax return. And don't think they need to go to little islands in the middle of an ocean, they don't. How about the USA!

The USA while complaining about tax avoidance is one of the largest providers of tax avoidance facilities in the world … for non USA residents i.e. Brits! They only complain about their residents taking advantage of tax avoidance provided by other countries, they are happy to offer tax avoidance to non-USA residents! Delaware provides extremely favourable tax treatment to trusts for non-resident beneficiaries. While the trust is considered a Delaware resident trust for tax reporting purposes, the tax law provides a deduction for income accumulated for non-residents. So long as the beneficiaries reside outside Delaware, no Delaware (USA) income tax is imposed on the trust. https://rbctrust.com/tax-savings.html And it's not just trusts … As a non-US resident, a Delaware LLC will only be taxed in the US on income from US sources, meaning that income from other countries will not be taxed by the US. https://www.delawareregisteredagent.com ... orporation

Two thirds of Fortune 500 companies have their head office in Delaware … now why do you think that is, the weather, the train services? Nah, try the tax breaks! More than 1,000,000 business entities have made Delaware their legal home. So you go ahead and tax the top 5% Mr Corbyn but don't start crying when there is nobody or no money to tax … 40% of something is better than 50% of nothing.

Here's the website of the Delaware Government boasting of the attractions of basing yourself there financially. https://corp.delaware.gov/aboutagency/ … I wish you all the best Mr Corbyn or should I say "are you feeling lucky, punk?"

[jimibt]

So its 2019 and my country is subsidising jobs to manipulate unemployment statistics.
Two phrases leap to mind - rough sleepers and food banks.
And on a different aspect, came across this chart, re: nhs spending.
https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/chart/ ... -1950-2020

interesting... so, what happened around 2009-2010 (leading to the present day) that meant that all this investment (percent GDP) in the NHS has stalled and dramatically fallen, year on year ??

[greenmark]

So its 2019 and my country is subsidising jobs to manipulate unemployment statistics.
Two phrases leap to mind - rough sleepers and food banks.
And on a different aspect, came across this chart, re: nhs spending.
https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/chart/ ... -1950-2020

interesting... so, what happened around 2009-2010 (leading to the present day) that meant that all this investment (percent GDP) in the NHS stalled and dramatically fell ??

Does it show that nhs spending reduced as a % of GDP.
And the population has expanded so that makes the situation worse.
I'll be unambiguous. The NHS is sacred in my view. Manage it to our best ability, but we must not allow profit to enter the agenda. We are the one of the biggest econonies in the world. Financing the NHS is easy peasy. Its all about democratic choice.
The cost people whine about actually employs people, who spend their wages. If it was privatised money would be hived off to shareholders etc. And of course I know that a lot of us are shareholders via pension funds etc, but I don't want a dividend from someone's ill-health.

[Euler]

NHS spending has risen year on year fairly continuously apart from when the country went bankrupt in the 70s when, as a condition of a bailout, the IMF forced the UK to cut the budget. After the 2008 financial crisis, it was the only department not to be cut.

If a business overspends it goes bust, but it's really tough to shrink government spending when tough times hit. Especially if you have a yawning deficit to fund.

[Euler]

Back to the markets.

Somebody has been heavily laying Conservative majority this afternoon.

[ShaunWhite]

It also assumes that the top 5% ...

I agree, they try the avoid an unpleasant truth that everyone will need to be taxed a little more, and that instantly creates a perfectly valid arguement that the 5% can't and won't foot the whole bill. They'd be better off explaining the facts than defending a falsehood.

I really don't think Joe Public would mind £2 less a week if they saw the benefit, they spend more than £2 a week giving to charity to topup essential sevices anyway. Marie Curie a charity? St Thomas's childrens hospital a charity? Nobody thinks that's right surely.