The Very Meh Humza Yousaf Thread.

[Caledonian1]

30 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

Around 4% of your gross salary is a bit more than "slightly" IMO

However, questioning what the SG are actually doing with the additional taxation ≠ "it's a disgrace the levels are higher."

Only 4% of your gross salary over £75,000 though....doesnt really impact too many people hence why it will only raise circa £60m

[effeffsee_the2nd]

10 minutes ago, Aufc said:

I know I am very fortunate that I have worked like f**k and got a very good job and yes I should almost certainly be ok. I don’t mind paying extra tax in line with my job, however, I get frustrated because it’s so one dimensional froM the government. They won’t address any budget deficit thag much by increasing my tax. 
 

People want to moan about stuff but then when a solution is suggested they scoff. Case in point is the NHS being fucked. Now I get it’s been criminally underfunded by the Tory fucks, however, there is also a large element of it that is down to people being inherently unhealthy. However, we never address that. 

I can see both sides of the argument for taxing high earners in all honesty.  On the one hand I'm very fortunate to have a job that pays well and on another day I might have fucked my interview and not got it.  But on the other hand I've also made big big sacrifices to my personal & social life, the kind that many other people would have been unwilling to make. On a good year I will break this new threshold but only through doing WTD bursting amounts of overtime which is why it's a bit of a kick in the baws. I'm already hammered with PAYE, When people who earn significantly more money have options to bypass PAYE entirely using methods like limited companies and so on.  

I've supported independence since before it was cool. I've always been personally worse of under the SNP but it has been balanced out by the fact that the rest of my family have been quite a bit better off.  I would still vote for indy in another referendum but upon independence happening I would vote for a party with a bit lower taxes tbh.  There is no realistic prospect of a proper indy ref happening this decade so I might give another party a try next time round. Hard to pick tho as they are all woefull!

[Suspect Device]

We should be questioning what both governments are doing with our tax.

Why are we paying the highest tax burden in 70 years for worse and worse services? Somebody is making a killing here and I don't believe it's the folk at the bottom of the pile.

I believe there's a hell of a lot of corruption and waste due to incompetence eating away at the money which should be spent on services.

The PPE scandal is just the most high profile case just now.

 

[Caledonian1]

1 minute ago, Suspect Device said:

We should be questioning what both governments are doing with our tax.

Why are we paying the highest tax burden in 70 years for worse and worse services? Somebody is making a killing here and I don't believe it's the folk at the bottom of the pile.

I believe there's a hell of a lot of corruption and waste due to incompetence eating away at the money which should be spent on services.

The PPE scandal is just the most high profile case just now.

 

^^^ should be posted in Michelle Mone thread........

[Suspect Device]

4 minutes ago, Caledonian1 said:

^^^ should be posted in Michelle Mone thread........

She's not the only c**t. There are loads of them. I've stopped reading that bit of private Eye because I need to watch my blood pressure. 

[Todd_is_God]

1 hour ago, Caledonian1 said:

Only 4% of your gross salary over £75,000 though....doesnt really impact too many people hence why it will only raise circa £60m

No, the amount was based on the difference in total taxation on a gross salary of £40k plus a fairly standard company car.

The additional tax collected by the SG on anyone who would fall into the higher tax band in England is actually fairly significant. I'm not convinced they are doing much constructive with it.

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by Todd_is_God

[O'Kelly Isley III]

Some decent recent posts and the hint of a consensus on the dismal record of the political classes right across the UK.

Also interesting to see a reference to Private Eye, and whilst it obviously has an agenda, you'd need to be blind not to realise that there are now eye-watering levels of corruption and financial mismanagement at every level, not to mention increasingly embedded inequality.  And wilfully toothless regulation has hastened it's progress.

[lichtgilphead]

6 hours ago, Todd_is_God said:

Its not even just high earners, though. Someone earning a kick in the arse over the UK average salary and who has an average company car will pay around £1,500 more in tax than someone elsewhere in the UK.

 

1 hour ago, Todd_is_God said:

No, the amount was based on the difference in total taxation on a gross salary of £40k plus a fairly standard company car.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I believe that the £1500 extra tax figure relates to a total salary of around £50,000 per year. Not having a company car myself, I'm not sure what notional value is placed on that perk nowadays, but I'm happy to accept your claim that it's worth £10,000 per year.

However, the median average salary in the UK is currently around £35,000. An additional £15,000 on top of that is hardly "a kick in the arse" away from that figure. 

In addition, anyone earning £50.000+ per year can easily & legally avoid most or all of the 42% tax rate (and NI) by making Additional Voluntary Contributions to their pension fund. Having just recieved my 2023 pay rise, I'll be reviewing my AVC's before the end of the tax year.

Effectively, I'm paying much the same tax as someone on a similar wage & paying similar AVC's south of the border.

[Left Back]

10 minutes ago, lichtgilphead said:

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I believe that the £1500 extra tax figure relates to a total salary of around £50,000 per year. Not having a company car myself, I'm not sure what notional value is placed on that perk nowadays, but I'm happy to accept your claim that it's worth £10,000 per year.

However, the median average salary in the UK is currently around £35,000. An additional £15,000 on top of that is hardly "a kick in the arse" away from that figure. 

In addition, anyone earning £50.000+ per year can easily & legally avoid most or all of the 42% tax rate (and NI) by making Additional Voluntary Contributions to their pension fund. Having just recieved my 2023 pay rise, I'll be reviewing my AVC's before the end of the tax year.

Effectively, I'm paying much the same tax as someone on a similar wage & paying similar AVC's south of the border.

Not happy about paying the additional tax then?

I said a few weeks back people would do this rather than pay the additional tax (I was talking about the higher tax bands but the same principle still applies).  Think someone replied that only a few nerds or geeks (can't remember the exact phrase they used) would be doing this.

It will become more common that rather than hand money over to the government people will simply take the tax break and stick it in their pension, especially when you hit the higher marginal rates.

[Jedi2]

2 hours ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

Some decent recent posts and the hint of a consensus on the dismal record of the political classes right across the UK.

Also interesting to see a reference to Private Eye, and whilst it obviously has an agenda, you'd need to be blind not to realise that there are now eye-watering levels of corruption and financial mismanagement at every level, not to mention increasingly embedded inequality.  And wilfully toothless regulation has hastened it's progress.

Spot on. Whether in England, Wales or Scotland, no administration is 'doing well' (or has been for some time). We have seen financial shenanigans both north and south of the border.

Although in fairness, the Covid period is still a factor in slow growth in any of the 3 countries, the madness of Brexit is clearly biting as well.

Unfortunately we have administrations across the board which are happy to pander to the middle ground either in the form of 'tax cuts' or Council Tax freezes, both of which clearly starve public services of much needed finance.

We should never be in a position of local Councils facing bankruptcy, high NHS waiting lists, or crumbling education in the world's 6th largest economy, whether in Scotland  England, or Wales, the stench of 'I'm alright Jack' pervades, along with financial corruption.

It truly is a depressing state of affairs which would understandably have voters reaching for a 'none of the above option' doesn't matter if its Tory, SNP, Green, Labour or the much diminished Lib Dems.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Jedi2

[lichtgilphead]

57 minutes ago, Left Back said:

Not happy about paying the additional tax then?

I said a few weeks back people would do this rather than pay the additional tax (I was talking about the higher tax bands but the same principle still applies).  Think someone replied that only a few nerds or geeks (can't remember the exact phrase they used) would be doing this.

It will become more common that rather than hand money over to the government people will simply take the tax break and stick it in their pension, especially when you hit the higher marginal rates.

Legally minimising your tax exposure is not the same as being unhappy about paying additional tax. Some of my income is taxed at 42%. That's why I said "much the same" as someone in England, rather than "exactly the same".

Additionally, if I lived in England, I would put the same amount away in AVC's, as I would still want to boost my pension. Effectively, I would be getting a worse tax break down South as more of my rax relief would be at a lower rate..

 

[Left Back]

9 minutes ago, lichtgilphead said:

Legally minimising your tax exposure is not the same as being unhappy about paying additional tax. Some of my income is taxed at 42%. That's why I said "much the same" as someone in England, rather than "exactly the same".

Additionally, if I lived in England, I would put the same amount away in AVC's, as I would still want to boost my pension. Effectively, I would be getting a worse tax break down South as more of my rax relief would be at a lower rate..

 

Lol.  I’ve never heard it framed like that before.  We get better tax breaks because the rates are higher .  Round of applause for the Scottish Government.

The effect is though that public services have reduced funding.  People can’t whinge about the state of public services when they’re actively reducing their funding.

[lichtgilphead]

2 minutes ago, Left Back said:

Lol.  I’ve never heard it framed like that before.  We get better tax breaks because the rates are higher .  Round of applause for the Scottish Government.

The effect is though that public services have reduced funding.  People can’t whinge about the state of public services when they’re actively reducing their funding.

You should blame Westminster for allowing tax breaks then. It's got f*ck all to do with the SNP.

 

 

 

Btw, my tongue was firmly in my cheek when I suggested that we get better tax breaks in Scotland. Perhaps you shouldn't take things so seriously.

[ICTChris]

The Fraser of Allender Institute estimates that the new tax band will raise c£40m.  I'm sure there is analysis somewhere of what percentage of total income tax is raised from each of the tax bands, that would be interesting.  

 

[Left Back]

5 minutes ago, lichtgilphead said:

You should blame Westminster for allowing tax breaks then. It's got f*ck all to do with the SNP.

 

 

 

Btw, my tongue was firmly in my cheek when I suggested that we get better tax breaks in Scotland. Perhaps you shouldn't take things so seriously.

So if there’s nothing wrong with minimising your tax exposure it’s OK for everyone to do it?  Billionaires, Corporations etc?

[lichtgilphead]

Just now, Left Back said:

So if there’s nothing wrong with minimising your tax exposure it’s OK for everyone to do it?  Billionaires, Corporations etc?

As long as it's legal, what's the problem? I'll pay tax on my pension when I start to receive it

Do you refuse to take your personal allowance and pay tax on every penny you earn?

[Aufc]

1 hour ago, Left Back said:

Not happy about paying the additional tax then?

I said a few weeks back people would do this rather than pay the additional tax (I was talking about the higher tax bands but the same principle still applies).  Think someone replied that only a few nerds or geeks (can't remember the exact phrase they used) would be doing this.

It will become more common that rather than hand money over to the government people will simply take the tax break and stick it in their pension, especially when you hit the higher marginal rates.

Yeah that’s my plans if it comes I 

[Left Back]

8 minutes ago, lichtgilphead said:

As long as it's legal, what's the problem? I'll pay tax on my pension when I start to receive it

Do you refuse to take your personal allowance and pay tax on every penny you earn?

Very Tory.

[vikingTON]

20 hours ago, Billy Jean King said:

If the buildings currently occupied were anything like the one recently vacated in Ayr, they will probably be beyond economic repair. Not sure anything had been spent on maintenance since it was built in the 70s/80s

The Greenock police station is the biggest eyesore in the town and is a relatively lucrative piece of property next to the river front and the Beacon Arts' Centre. They should absolutely be knocking that nick of a building down and downsize to a less offensive carbuncle of a building. 

[vikingTON]

10 hours ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

Given the majority of funding comes from Westminster there's good reasons why it can take a large part of the blame.

We've had a long period of austerity in the UK with spending across most public services cut in real terms.

It's all in fine saying the Scottish Government have control of these issues but the reality is they don't have full control while Westminster holds the purse strings.

They could address many of those issues by dealing with Council Tax reform - such as (for example) abolishing it and replacing it with a progressive local income tax and a huge levy on second homes. 

The SNP were justified to kick that can down the road until the 2014 referendum. Afterwards, they needed to pursue that legitimate reform. Instead gormless Yousaf is going to arbitrarily freeze CT in place without the money to cover it from Holyrood funds - and cause the final collapse of local authorities up and down the country. While pointlessly expending political capital on nonsense like bottle deposit schemes and a toxic gender reform bill. 

That is fucking braindead politics.