The Very Meh Humza Yousaf Thread.

[Eatmygoal]

Just now, virginton said:

So you're a two person wage-earning family - one of which is earning in the upper income tax brackets, with a banger of a car and a 'modest' mortgage. 

Your feeling the pinch story doesn't really add up then. 

There are 7 billion people on the planet and half of many developing countries' population consists of children. The tax base can be maintained by sensible migration policies rather than nativist subsidy for sprog rearing. 

 

I am well aware we are reasonably well off in the scheme of things, but I'm hardly living the life of luxury. 

I wasn't trying to be argumentative, just stating how I felt and asking a geunine question about Norway!

Just out of interest, before I stop engaging with your trolling, what do you feel taxes should be subsidising? Essentially that is the purpose of taxation. 

[vikingTON]

11 minutes ago, Eatmygoal said:

I am well aware we are reasonably well off in the scheme of things, but I'm hardly living the life of luxury. 

I wasn't trying to be argumentative, just stating how I felt and asking a geunine question about Norway!

Just out of interest, before I stop engaging with your trolling, what do you feel taxes should be subsidising? Essentially that is the purpose of taxation. 

Health care, housing as a basic human right for all., a proper social safety net, public transport and secure communities.

Not the 30 years plus of political parties of all colours focus-grouping tax breaks at B2 and C1 income 'hard working families'. Or the Tory scheme of appeasing Mondeo man by cutting the cost of private car ownership in real terms for over a decade now.  

The refusal to grasp income and wealth distinctions for what they are enables the transactional, nonsense politics we now get all the time.

[Dink]

1 hour ago, Left Back said:

Another great theory.

Funded uni places in Scotland are capped so it’s absolutely possible to pay tax in Scotland but not financially benefit from “free” uni tuition either as a parent or a student.

If you're a Scottish kid in 5th or 6th year and want to go to uni in Scotland then you'll be able to get a place at a Scottish university (depending on grades etc. obviously). You may not get to go to the university or the course that you want but that's no different from an English kid going to St Andrews or Edinburgh after they don't get into Oxford or Cambridge.

[strichener]

3 hours ago, Leith Green said:

I can only answer for France - if you are there on residency and settled status - aye.

Cant see it being much different for the Spanish, as all these were reciprocal agreements pre Brexit and the issue on settled / residents was pretty much nailed in the awful exit agreement "we" agreed.

I'm guessing that you don't understand the word rhetorical. 

[Left Back]

17 minutes ago, Dink said:

If you're a Scottish kid in 5th or 6th year and want to go to uni in Scotland then you'll be able to get a place at a Scottish university (depending on grades etc. obviously). You may not get to go to the university or the course that you want but that's no different from an English kid going to St Andrews or Edinburgh after they don't get into Oxford or Cambridge.

Rubbish.

[strichener]

3 hours ago, doulikefish said:

If those earning over 75k can't afford it then they should cancel Netflix and stop getting drinks from Starbucks 

It's not a case of affordability, it's rather more of the funding of failure and the fact that even with all these tax rates, we are not achieving acceptable outcomes in education or health.

[strichener]

2 hours ago, doulikefish said:

I pay the top rate of  Norwegian tax but you crack on 

When I last paid Norwegian tax, the actual tax was less then the UK equivalent once all the allowances were taken into account - married person, children and mortgage all reduced your tax bill.

[Dink]

1 minute ago, Left Back said:

Rubbish.

It really isn't. Funded places were reduced by around 1,000 in AY 2023-24 because several universities couldn't fill their places. Edinburgh University, as an example who didn't have their places reduced, could recruit additional students eligible for funding without exceeding their consolidation number. It's their operational decision that they don't. Since Brexit EU entrants have been (largely) ineligible to take a funded place so there's actually been an expansion in places available for Scottish domiciled students.

[Left Back]

3 minutes ago, Dink said:

It really isn't. Funded places were reduced by around 1,000 in AY 2023-24 because several universities couldn't fill their places. Edinburgh University, as an example who didn't have their places reduced, could recruit additional students eligible for funding without exceeding their consolidation number. It's their operational decision that they don't. Since Brexit EU entrants have been (largely) ineligible to take a funded place so there's actually been an expansion in places available for Scottish domiciled students.

The operational decision not to fill the funded places will have nothing to do with the fact they get less revenue from a funded place so would prefer that non-funded students take them up.

[Dink]

3 minutes ago, Left Back said:

The operational decision not to fill the funded places will have nothing to do with the fact they get less revenue from a funded place so would prefer that non-funded students take them up.

They generally fill the the funded places, but they don't recruit up to their consolidation number. I did say that potential students may not get into the university of their choice as they will make their own decisions on how many students to recruit. Universities in England will be making similar decisions based on the amount of high cost subject, and access funding etc. that they receive from OfS.

Students (with the required grades) who don't get into Edinburgh, however, will have the option of going to another university in Scotland if they've applied to them as well.

It's only partially true that universities get more funding for an rUK student than from a funded place, price groups 1 and 2 are both higher than the £9,250 fee 

[Todd_is_God]

6 hours ago, strichener said:

When I last paid Norwegian tax, the actual tax was less then the UK equivalent once all the allowances were taken into account - married person, children and mortgage all reduced your tax bill.

It still is lower than the Scottish equivalent, even without them.

Edited December 20, 2023 by Todd_is_God

[doulikefish]

8 hours ago, strichener said:

When I last paid Norwegian tax, the actual tax was less then the UK equivalent once all the allowances were taken into account - married person, children and mortgage all reduced your tax bill.

You forget I ain't married,no kids and no mortgage.I do get some reductions but I pay the full 52%  when I go over the threshold but I'm happy enough to do so because my "state" pension and other benefits  are great compared to the UK equivalent .Once you get to 50 for some reason what and when you receive your pension becomes really important Ive found out compared to when I was bouncing about the world living and working it was all about the "party" as such 

Ps yes I know I get some reductions and I really should Google translate a pay slip as I haven't done that in ages but I kinda go on what goes into my account monthly and if it looks the sameish then there's nothing to query and being Noggies the pay dept are efficient as fook 

Edited December 20, 2023 by doulikefish

[Leith Green]

10 hours ago, Left Back said:

Another great theory.

Funded uni places in Scotland are capped so it’s absolutely possible to pay tax in Scotland but not financially benefit from “free” uni tuition either as a parent or a student.

I know that in theory there is a cap on funded university places for Scottish students - however this is such a rare problem that it may as well not even exist. 

I have genuinely never heard of anybody who hasnt got the course or Uni they wanted * and **.

*2 years back, Edinburgh Uni stopped kids from George Heriots (a private school) from taking a Law degree, because there was obvious evidence that the school had manipulated the Covid era results - thats the only time I have heard of pupils being stopped from going to a specific course, and it only lasted one year.

** Dishonourable mention for St Andrews which deliberately sits on Scottish applications and tries not to reply in a reasonable time - which de facto forces them to choose another institution...........and hence allows St A to take on a rich Yank or Asian student.

[Aufc]

11 hours ago, virginton said:

Health care, housing as a basic human right for all., a proper social safety net, public transport and secure communities.

Not the 30 years plus of political parties of all colours focus-grouping tax breaks at B2 and C1 income 'hard working families'. Or the Tory scheme of appeasing Mondeo man by cutting the cost of private car ownership in real terms for over a decade now.  

The refusal to grasp income and wealth distinctions for what they are enables the transactional, nonsense politics we now get all the time.

By the same token, i dont want my additional tax to go towards funding healthcare for people who have absolutely zero interest in trying to be remotely healthy which seems to be something no government wants to address. So I will just up my pension contributions and offset the rise. 

It is pretty mental that if you earn between 100k-125k in scotland next teax year, your effective tax rate will be 70%. No matter what you earn, everyone should be entitled to a personal allowance (i realise this isnt a devolved matter)

[Left Back]

2 hours ago, Leith Green said:

I know that in theory there is a cap on funded university places for Scottish students - however this is such a rare problem that it may as well not even exist. 

I have genuinely never heard of anybody who hasnt got the course or Uni they wanted * and **.

*2 years back, Edinburgh Uni stopped kids from George Heriots (a private school) from taking a Law degree, because there was obvious evidence that the school had manipulated the Covid era results - thats the only time I have heard of pupils being stopped from going to a specific course, and it only lasted one year.

** Dishonourable mention for St Andrews which deliberately sits on Scottish applications and tries not to reply in a reasonable time - which de facto forces them to choose another institution...........and hence allows St A to take on a rich Yank or Asian student.

When our son went to Uni not only could he not get into any of the courses he applied for there were no clearing places for Scottish students at all that year because the funded places were all taken up.  We paid for him to go to Uni in London.

Whether this is better because of Brexit as was claimed I don't know.  2 minutes on google would indicate that isn't the case though.

https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/clearing/scotland/

[Leith Green]

13 minutes ago, Left Back said:

When our son went to Uni not only could he not get into any of the courses he applied for there were no clearing places for Scottish students at all that year because the funded places were all taken up.  We paid for him to go to Uni in London.

Whether this is better because of Brexit as was claimed I don't know.  2 minutes on google would indicate that isn't the case though.

https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/clearing/scotland/

I cant comment on the specifics of your sons course, obviously - but in general, any kids who either dont meet the entry requirements for a course, or dont receive an offer are automatically entered into clearing via UCAS.

I would guess that late applications will have problems wherever country they are in.

Hope he did well.

 

[superbigal]

Quite amusing even for a Tory

 

 

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

1 hour ago, Aufc said:

By the same token, i dont want my additional tax to go towards funding healthcare for people who have absolutely zero interest in trying to be remotely healthy which seems to be something no government wants to address. So I will just up my pension contributions and offset the rise. 

It is pretty mental that if you earn between 100k-125k in scotland next teax year, your effective tax rate will be 70%. No matter what you earn, everyone should be entitled to a personal allowance (i realise this isnt a devolved matter)

I'll get the tiny Stradivarius out for folk earning over £100k.

[Left Back]

1 hour ago, Aufc said:

By the same token, i dont want my additional tax to go towards funding healthcare for people who have absolutely zero interest in trying to be remotely healthy which seems to be something no government wants to address. So I will just up my pension contributions and offset the rise. 

It is pretty mental that if you earn between 100k-125k in scotland next teax year, your effective tax rate will be 70%. No matter what you earn, everyone should be entitled to a personal allowance (i realise this isnt a devolved matter)

I think you mean marginal tax rate and it would be 69.5%

Effective tax rate would be something like 40% depending on where in that bracket you fell.

[Aufc]

58 minutes ago, Left Back said:

I think you mean marginal tax rate and it would be 69.5%

Effective tax rate would be something like 40% depending on where in that bracket you fell.

Yeah I did! So aye still madness